Kara Walker Discusses Her Sugar-Coated Sphinx at NY Public Library
ON TUESDAY, ARTIST KARA WALKER spoke for 90 minutes about “A Subtlety,” the enormous sculpture she has installed in the old Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn. Commissioned by the public arts organization Creative Time to produce a work for the abandoned space, which is slated for redevelopment, she was given complete creative freedom. In...
The Week in Black Art | May 10-16, 2014
A REVIEW OF THE WEEK’S NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE ART WORLD Featuring Yams Collective, Thomas J. Lax, Christian Rosa and contemporary auction results Yams Collective Pulls Out of Whitney Biennial As the final days of the Whitney Biennial approach, a race-related kerfuffle has emerged. The Yams, (shown above) a collective of 38...
Julie Mehretu Ranks Among Most Expensive Women Artists
TODAY, AN ARTNET NEWS HEADLINE asked “Who are the Top 10 Most Expensive Women Artists?” The answer includes Julie Mehretu, the Ethiopian-born abstract painter who lives and works in New York. She ranks No. 5, earning the spot when her 2001 work “Retopistics: A Renegade Excavation” (above) sold for $4.6 million at Christie’s New...
Mickalene Thomas Art Rug Debuting at Barneys
HENZEL STUDIO IS COLLABORATING with a dozen artists including Mickalene Thomas on a collection of art rugs that will officially launch at Barneys New York on May 7. “Candy Crush” by Thomas, is a free-form, hand-knotted rug made of Himalayan wool and silk (shown above). According to Henzel, a Swedish luxury rug manufacturer, Thomas’s floor...
The Week in Black Art | April 27-May 2, 2014
A REVIEW OF THE WEEK’S NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE ART WORLD Featuring David Hammons, Lyle Ashton Harris, David Driskell, Kara Walker, Mickalene Thomas, Chakaia Booker and Nicola Vassell David Hammons Ranks Among Most Expensive Living American Artists Artnet News published a list of the top 10 most expensive living American artists based...
David Hammons Among 10 Most Expensive Living American Artists
A BASKETBALL HOOP with a frosted glass backboard adorned with lights and chandelier crystals by David Hammons sold for more than $8 million last fall. Created in 2000, the untitled work was the cover lot for Phillips Contemporary Art Evening sale on Nov. 11, 2013, and the hammer price ($8,005,000 with fees included) was...
Critics’ Best: El Anatsui Exhibition Among Those Recognized for Excellence
AICA-USA ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS of its annual Best Show awards this week. “Gravity and Grace: Works by El Anatsui” at the Brooklyn Museum (shown above) was recognized for excellence in the Best Monographic Museum Show in New York category. Exhibitions featuring Nick Cave, Isaac Julien, Kerry James Marshall and Wangechi Mutu, were among the...
Billboards to Advertise Museum Art this Summer
THIS SUMMER, BILLBOARDS boasting images by artists Glenn Ligon, Jacob Lawrence or Kerry James Marshall may give your road trip an unexpected dose of culture. Across the nation, the huge elevated outdoor billboards that usually advertise soft drinks, automobiles and the latest reality show, will be “marketing” art selected from museums across the United...
The Week in Black Art | March 22-28
A REVIEW OF THE WEEK’S NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE ART WORLD: New York Times Reviews Civil Rights Exhibit In a review of “Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties,” at the Brooklyn Museum, the Times says the show gets both the balance of history and selection of artists right. Co-curated by Teresa...
61 Photos of Sea Island Slave Descendants Donated to Smithsonian
BANK OF AMERICA dontated 61 photos of a small community of slave descendants living on a South Carolina sea island to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) this week. According to an AP report published in the Washington Post, the photographs by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe were taken between 1977 and...
The Week in Black Art | March 15-21
A REVIEW OF THE WEEK’S NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE ART WORLD: Mickalene Thomas Joins Kavi Gupta Mickalene Thomas, the Brooklyn based artist known for her powerful mixed-media portraits of women and interiors, is expanding her footprint. She is now represented by Kavi Gupta in Chicago and Berlin. In a statement, Thomas’s newest...
On HBO, Mickalene Thomas Celebrates Her Mother
TOMORROW ON HBO, Mickalene Thomas‘s short documentary about her late mother Sandra Bush makes its television debut. “Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman” is a candid portrayal. While Thomas was growing up, their relationship was rife with challenges. Bush, a former runway model, struggled with spousal abuse, drug addiction and eventually health problems. Both...
Black Artists Join Powerhouse Galleries
ART CRITIC JERRY SALTZ recently expressed his frustration with Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth and David Zwirner galleries in New York magazine, describing the four mega dealers as overwhelming behemoths causing much consternation in the art world. In the course of breaking down the situation, one of his most fascinating anecdotes involved artist Mark...
