‘Face of MoMA’s Future’?: Brigitte Lacombe Commission Features Museum’s Diverse Young Curators and Collaborators
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MoMA) asked photographer Brigitte Lacombe to create a visual commission (read photographic portraits and a video) for its Creative New York platform featuring the young curators, artists, fellows and collaborators who represent “the face of MoMA’s future.” A demographically diverse group of creatives was selected to participate. All the...
Culture Type: The Year in Black Art 2017
POLITICS PAST AND PRESENT coursed through the art world in 2017. Issues of censorship and debates around who has the right to depict black bodies came to the fore. The biggest news stories, from White House machinations, gun violence, and immigration to the fate of Confederate monuments, racial division, and sexual harassment and assault revelations,...
Representation: 9 Artists to Watch Who Joined New Galleries in 2017
AT ANY STAGE of an artist’s career, partnership with the right gallery can be transformative. New gallery representation offers the opportunity to better communicate the focus of an artist’s practice; expose their work to a broader audience of collectors, curators, and critics; and encourage and support exhibitions, projects, and even a new creative direction. In...
Next: 23 Art Curators to Watch Who Took on New Appointments in 2017
THE ART, EXHIBITIONS, AND PROGRAMMING featured in museums and cultural institutions are largely shaped, guided and decided upon by curators, an elite group lacking racial and ethnic diversity. A recent survey from the Mellon Foundation found that representation for black curators (and conservators, educators and leaders) in the museum sector is dismal—just 4 percent. To...
Survey: The Latest News in African American Art and Beyond, Dec. 13, 2017
SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. From left, Artists Emeka Ogboh and Simone Leigh made the shortlist for the 2018 Hugo Boss Prize. | From left, Photos by Adolphus Opara and Paul Mpagi...
Coming Soon: First-Ever Exhibition of Sculptures by Jack Whitten Opening at Baltimore Museum of Art in April 2018
THIS SPRING, Jack Whitten is sharing a previously unknown aspect of his practice with the public for the first time. “Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963-2016” opens at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) on April 22, 2018. Co-organized with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the show will feature 40 sculptures Whitten...
Lubaina Himid, a Pioneer in the UK Black Arts Movement, Wins 2017 Turner Prize
AFTER MUCH ANTICIPATION, the winner of Britain’s most prestigious art prize has been announced. Lubaina Himid, 63, was awarded the 2017 Turner Prize on Tuesday. Her selection is groundbreaking. She is the first black woman to get the prize and she is also the oldest artist to earn the honor, after a rule change...
Hometown Pride: Collectors Ronald and Monique Ollie Donate 81 Works by African American Artists to Saint Louis Art Museum
THE SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM is benefitting from the largesse of a collector who developed an appreciation for art through visiting the institution as a child. Ronald Ollie grew up in St. Louis and was exposed to the museum by his parents. Eventually he became an art collector. Now based in New Jersey, Ollie...
Harvard Art Museums Acquire Large-Scale Drawing by Kara Walker From Recent Fall Show at Sikkema Jenkins Gallery
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS have acquired a monumental drawing from one of this fall’s most talked about gallery exhibitions. Kara Walker‘s “U.S.A. Idioms” was purchased from “the Most Astounding and Important Painting Show of the Fall Viewing Season!,” an exhibition of new works on paper by Walker at Sikkema Jenkins. The show opened Sept. 7...
Survey: The Latest News in African American Art and Beyond, Dec. 3, 2017
SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. Pérez Art Museum Miami is among 20 institutions benefitting from diversity initiative supported by Ford and Walton Family foundations. $6 Million Initiative Aims to Diversify...
Estate of Painter Robert Colescott is Now Represented by Blum & Poe
WITH TWO MAJOR MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS on the horizon, Blum & Poe announced its representation of the estate of Robert Colescott (1925-2009). The thinking man’s provocateur, Colescott challenged art history and reinterpreted American history, painting transgressive, racially and sexually charged scenes with wit, insight, and imagination. Blum & Poe made the announcement on Dec. 1,...
Chicago Artist Barbara Jones-Hogu, a Founding Member of AfriCOBRA, Has Died
BARBARA JONES-HOGU, “Unite (First State),” 1969 (screenprint). | © Barbara Jones-Hogu, Courtesy Lusenhop Fine Art THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT has lost a central figure. Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017), a founding member of the artist collective AfriCOBRA, died Nov. 14. The Chicago artist, educator, and filmmaker, was 79. Recognized for her political, pro-Black images combining figuration...
Survey: The Latest News in African American Art and Beyond, Nov. 19, 2017
Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017). | Photo by David Lusenhop SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT has lost a significant figure. A founding member of the artist collective AfriCOBRA, Barbara...
Lyle Ashton Harris Joins Salon 94, the Multidisciplinary Artist Has a New Gallery and a New Book
FOLLOWING HIS PARTICIPATION in the 2017 Whitney Biennial earlier this year, Lyle Ashton Harris has a new gallery and a new monograph. This week, Salon 94 announced its representation of the New York-based artist whose latest book, “Today I Shall Judge Nothing That Occurs: Selections from the Ektachrome Archive,” was just published by Aperture....
Annual List of Top 100 Art World Power Players Includes Notable Rankings for Thelma Golden, African American Artists
From left, Curator Thelma Golden. | Photo © Julie Skarratt; Artist Kara Walker. | Photo by Paul Zimmerman, Getty Images THELMA GOLDEN IS THE EIGHTH most powerful person in the art world, according to Art Review. The London-based international contemporary art magazine published its 2017 Power 100 list of the most influential figures in...
Studio Museum in Harlem Announces 2018 Artists-in-Residence
From left, Sable Elyse Smith, Allison Janae Hamilton, and Tschabalala Self. THREE WOMEN ARTISTS will be in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem during its 50th anniversary year. The museum announced Allison Janae Hamilton, Tschabalala Self, and Sable Elyse Smith are its 2018 artists in residence. Their residency begins in early April 2018....
Survey: The Latest News in African American Art and Beyond, Nov. 8, 2017
SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. SEVERAL MAJOR EXHIBITION featuring African American artists are opening this week including Mark Bradford at the Hirshhorn Museum, Nick Cave at the Frist Center, Nina Chanel Abney...
WSJ. Magazine Recognizes Mark Bradford’s Banner Year with 2017 Innovator Award
ART SHOULD GET RIGHT UP IN YOUR FACE. “A good art work should rush out so close up to you that you are so uncomfortable. It should just rush out and get in your face,” Mark Bradford says in a new WSJ. The Wall Street Journal Magazine video. He talks about how America is...
Survey: The Latest News in African American Art and Beyond, Nov. 1, 2017
SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. OVER THE WEEKEND, the feminist art historian Linda Nochlin died at age 86. She wrote the seminal 1971 essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,”...
Retrospective: The Latest News in African American Art and Beyond, Oct. 28, 2017
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. OVER THE PAST WEEK, compelling conversations about art, politics, and society, took place across the country. The SCAD Museum of Art hosted a symposium in conjunction with...
