Auction Record: Alma Thomas’s 1969 Vision of ‘Spring Flowers’ Yields More Than $300K
PAINTED NEARLY 50 YEARS AGO, Alma Thomas‘s ode to “Spring Flowers in Washington D.C.” set an artist record yesterday, topping more than $300,000 at Los Angeles Modern Auctions. Grounded in pink, the mesmerizing square canvas is a rhythmic composition of pattern and color. Nearly four hours after the Modern Art & Design Auction started...
Hirshhorn Museum Gala Will Honor Five Washington Artists, Including Sam Gilliam and Jefferson Pinder
From left, Jefferson Pinder and Sam Gilliam THE HIRSHHORN MUSUEM and Sculpture Garden is honoring contemporary artists who live and work in Washington, D.C., including Sam Gilliam and Jefferson Pinder. After hosting two galas in New York, the Smithsonian museum is bringing its fundraising celebration home. In addition to Gilliam and Pinder, Linn Meyers,...
Courtney J. Martin Named Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Dia Art Foundation
THE DIA ART FOUNDATION appointed Courtney J. Martin deputy director and chief curator. An assistant professor of art history and architecture at Brown University, she curated an exhibition of the American painter Robert Ryman at Dia:Chelsea in 2015-16. It was the Dia’s first exhibition in Chelsea in more than a decade and Ryman’s first...
Artist Henry Taylor is Lending His West Coast Perspective to New York’s High Line
LOS ANGELES ARTIST Henry Taylor is bringing California cool to the High Line next month with a massive mural. Debuting March 17, “the floaters” is a self-portrait featuring the sunglass-wearing artist leisurely lounging in an enchanting blue pool. Taylor is also featured in the Whitney Biennial, which opens the same day at the nearby...
Detroit Museum Exhibits Major Painting by Julie Mehretu, First in Series of Works on Loan by Black Artists
Julie Mehretu, “Looking Back to a Bright New Future” (2003). A MAJOR PAINTING by Julie Mehretu is on view in the contemporary art galleries at the Detroit Institute of the Arts (DIA). A symphony of line, color, and form, “Looking Back to a Bright Future” (2003) is on loan from a private collection for...
Artist Rashid Johnson is Expanding his Practice, First Film Project is Adaptation of Richard Wright Novel ‘Native Son’
MONUMENTAL INSTALLATIONS composed of black scaffolding have been the star attraction at Rashid Johnson‘s recent exhibitions. Last fall, “Fly Away” at Hauser & Wirth in New York featured “Antoine’s Organ,” the artist’s largest architectural grid work ever shown in the United States. Overflowing with plants, and filled with lights, video screens, shea butter and...
Curator Naima Keith Named 2017 Recipient of David C. Driskell Prize
Embed from Getty Images INNOVATIVE AND RELEVANT PROGRAMMING has become a signature of the California African American Museum (CAAM) over the past year. Recent presentations have included “Hank Willis Thomas: Black Righteous Space”; “Genevieve Gaignard: Smell the Roses,” the first museum exhibition of the emerging artist; and a group exhibition featuring four contemporary African...
Artist Isaac Julien Joins London’s Art Fund Board, Charity Supports UK Museums
Embed from Getty Images LONDON’S ART FUND announced the appointment of artist Isaac Julien to its board of trustees for a five year term. Art Fund is a national fundraising charity that encourages exposure and access to art in public collections throughout the UK by supporting museum and gallery acquisitions, exhibitions, special curatorial projects,...
Collection Highlights: Museum of Modern Art’s 2015-16 Acquisitions Include More than 50 Works by African American Artists
KARA WALKER, “40 Acres of Mules,” 2015 THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART’S collection boasts dozens of new additions by African American artists. Over the past two years the museum has acquired paintings by Mark Bradford, Kerry James Marshall, Chris Ofili, and Faith Ringgold; drawings by Palmer Hayden, Adrian Piper, and Kara Walker; sculptures by...
Hammer Museum Selects Erin Christovale to Co-Curate Made in L.A. 2018
Los Angeles-based independent curator Erin Christovale specializes in film programming. | Photo by Jamie Costa, Courtesy Hammer Museum EVERY OTHER YEAR, Los Angeles comes alive with coordinated exhibition programming showcasing the city’s most promising artists and innovative practices. Made in L.A. is the citywide biennial presented by the Hammer Museum. The fourth edition will...
VMFA Acquires Paintings by Important 20th Century African American Artists Eldzier Cortor and Palmer Hayden
PALMER HAYDEN, “Untitled (Dreamer),” circa 1930 IN DECEMBER, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) acquired “Three Folk Musicians” (1967), a major work by Romare Bearden. When the purchase was announced, VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said the collage painting “bolsters our effort to represent a diverse range of cultures in our galleries and allows...
Pamela Joyner, Influential Collector of African American Art, Joins Board of J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles
Embed from Getty Images THE J. PAUL GETTY TRUST announced today the addition of influential art collector Pamela J. Joyner to its board of trustees. A financial industry veteran, Joyner is the founder of Avid Partners, LLC. Currently, she has turned her focus to philanthropy and an increasingly pivotal role in the arts. Joyner’s...
Public Arts Organization Creative Time Appoints London-based Elvira Dyangani Ose Senior Curator
London-based Elvira Dyangani Ose is joining Creative Time. | Photo by Hendrik Zeitler, Courtesy Creative Time CREATIVE TIME, THE PUBLIC ARTS ORGANIZATION that commissioned Kara Walker’s monumental, sugar-coated sphinx/mammy sculpture in Brooklyn and Nick Cave’s choreographed parade of colorful “horses” through Grand Central Station, announced two appointments today—a new hire and a promotion. Elvira...
Vilcek Prize Winner Nari Ward to Recreate ‘We the People’ Installation at New-York Historical Society on President’s Day
“We the People” at Barnes Foundation, 2016 SIX YEARS AGO, artist Nari Ward created a textile installation composed of nearly 1,000 shoe laces spelling out “We the People.” The work of art is particularly relevant today. The divisive political climate in the United States has awakened Americans anew to the values of democracy, importance...
Nasher Launches Website Previewing Nina Chanel Abney’s First-Ever Solo Museum Exhibition
EMERGING FROM HER SUCCESSFUL THESIS SHOW with the sole painting she presented selling to prominent Miami collectors, Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982) has never looked back since earning her MFA from Parsons in New York. The aforementioned painting, “Class of 2007,” helped her secure gallery representation and appeared in “30 Americans,” the traveling group...
Virginia Museum Acquires ‘Three Folk Musicians’ by Romare Bearden, an ‘Iconic’ Collage Long Held in a Private Collection
FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS, “Three Folk Musicians” (1967) by Romare Bearden (1911-1988) has appeared in major exhibitions of the artist’s work hosted by the nation’s top-tier museums. One of his most renowned and recognizable individual works, the 1967 collage painting was presented in the Museum of Modern Art’s 1971 exhibition “Romare Bearden: The Prevalence...
2017 Venice Biennale List Includes African American Artists Sam Gilliam, Senga Nengudi, and McArthur Binion
Chicago-based McArthur Binion is among the artists invited to participate in the 57th Venice Biennial. HOW TIME FLIES. It certainly doesn’t seem like two years has elapsed since Nigerian-born Okwui Enwezor’s historic turn as artistic director of the 2015 Venice Biennale and “All the World’s Futures” featured more than 35 black artists, including Glenn...
Monumental Sculptures by Simone Leigh, Charles Gaines May Perch Above High Line
SYMBOLIZING THE BLACK BODY, Simone Leigh‘s black ceramic busts embellished with textured glaze or countless tiny roses are a sight to see. Imagine a monumental version of one of her sculptures installed on the High Line, rising so high it is visible from the street below. It’s a possibility that might materialize next year....
1:54 African Art Fair is Returning to New York, 3rd Edition Features 9 New Galleries
Installation view, 1:54 New York 2016 © Katrina Sorrentino WHAT BEGAN AS A POP-UP is turning into an annual event. After its debut in 2015, and return in 2016, the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair is staging its third edition in New York. This year, the fair is May 5-7 at Pioneer Works in...
College Art Association Honoring Ruth Fine for Norman Lewis Catalog: ‘I Wanted it to Visually be Compelling and Comprehensible’
Curator Ruth Fine previews Norman Lewis exhibition at PAFA – Nov. 12, 2015 | Photo by Victoria L. Valentine THE COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION (CAA) announced recipients of its 2017 Awards for Distinction and art historian Ruth Fine is among the honorees. Fine organized “Procession: The Art of Norman Lewis,” the first major museum retrospective...
