OVER THE PAST 25 years, Kenneth Montague has built an expansive photography-based collection that explores Blackness and the Black experience, visualizing what Black life looks like on both sides of the Atlantic. The Wedge Collection features images by Black artists from throughout the diaspora—from Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Great Britain, South America,...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOR HIS FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION in London and his first solo show with Gagosian gallery, Tyler Mitchell is presenting a new series of transporting photographs of Black figures that blend the serene with the surreal. Made this year, the images were captured among the natural...
IN A FORMAL, TRADITIONAL, and somber-toned room, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson stood for her first official portrait. Wearing all black, she posed before a black backdrop and studio lighting, the trappings of contemporary photography temporarily inserted into the White House complex space, literally disrupting history. The Senate confirmed Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court...
WEDDINGS, FUNERALS, PARADES, CHRISTMAS SCENES, and all manner of portraits. The photographs of James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) have come to define 20th century Harlem. His powerful pictures capture the beauty and pride of Black life, documenting everyday moments and special celebrations. His subjects were cosmopolitan Black families, artists, and political leaders—Adam Clayton Powell...
AN IMPORTANT REPOSITORY of images, books, and materials documenting African American history and culture, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University announced the addition of more than 200 photographs by Gordon Parks to its collection. The prints were acquired directly from The Gordon Parks Foundation and include selections from 11 of...
Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale (1968) by Jeffrey Henson Scales On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOUNDED 55 YEARS AGO, the legacy of the Black Panther Party is being explored and celebrated this fall with art and images often taking center stage. A bronze bust of Huey P. Newton by Dana...
“Connective Tissue” (2021) by Tyler Mitchell On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE PASTORAL AMERICAN SOUTH conjures complex histories, emotions, and experiences for Black people. Family traditions and connections to the land are tempered by racial terror and generational discrimination. Tyler Mitchell focuses nearly exclusively on the blissful moments and the power...
TWO POWERFUL, TRAILBLAZING WOMEN are joining forces. Nicola Vassell Gallery in New York announced the representation of Ming Smith on Friday. Smith joins the Black-owned gallery having established a groundbreaking photography practice over the last 50 years. In May, Vassell inaugurated her gallery with a solo exhibition of the Harlem-based artist. “Ming Smith: Evidence”...
“A Young Man Resting on an Exercise Bike, Amityville, NY” (1988) by Dawoud Bey On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions CHICAGO PHOTOGRAPHER Dawoud Bey has been chronicling America since the mid-1970s, training his lens on individuals, communities, and histories that are often unseen, yet central to the nation’s narrative. “Dawoud Bey: An...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE FRESH PERSPECTIVE and imaginative eye of Nadine Ijewere have produced beautiful and novel images, bringing international attention to the rising young photographer. Known for her striking fashion portraiture, Ijewere became the first Black woman to photograph a Vogue magazine cover when she shot the cover...
SPIKE LEE TEACHES independent filmmaking. Anna Wintour provides insights about leadership. Frank Gehry offers fundamentals about architecture and design. A fine art and fashion photographer, Tyler Mitchell provides instruction on how to tell stories through portrait photography. Mitchell shot to fame in the creative world when he became the first Black photographer and youngest...
Photographer Lawrence Jackson THE TENURE OF THE FIRST WOMAN, first Black, and first Asian American to serve as Vice President of the United States will be visually documented by a Black photographer. Lawrence Jackson was named photographer to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 15. The Biden-Harris transition announced a number of White House...
FROM ST. LOUIS TO MIAMI and New York, five photography exhibitions are showcasing the work of Black image makers. John Edmonds, Awol Erizku, and a new generation of fast-rising photographers are exploring fashion, art history, and contemporary culture. On the documentary front, two photographers capture New York. Lyle Ashton Harris’s archival work tracks the...
TYLER MITCHELL, Untitled, 2019. | © Tyler Mitchell ALLURING, JOYFUL, AND TIMELY, the photographs of Tyler Mitchell center the Black experiences he didn’t see represented in media when he was growing up. The images Mitchell came across, mostly on Tumblr, focused on attractive white models at leisure and at play, having fun. Shifting how...
IN A NEW ONLINE VIEWING ROOM, Jack Shainman Gallery is showcasing Carrie Mae Weems‘s iconic Kitchen Table Series (1990). The photographs feature a succession of staged scenes that explore female identity, experiences, and relationships in the context of a traditionally female domain. Employing visual performance, image making, and a compelling narrative text, the powerful...
“Mother and Son” by Devin Allen While museums and galleries are temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 virus, On View will continue to showcase images from noteworthy exhibitions DOCUMENTING THE UPRISING that spilled into the streets of Baltimore in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray while he was in police custody,...
“Abidjan Children” (1972 / 2003) by Ming Smith While museums and galleries are temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 virus, On View will continue to showcase images from noteworthy exhibitions A PIONEERING AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER, Ming Smith is known for her experimental techniques. Her painterly and artfully blurred images are achieved with slow shutter...
A COLLECTIVE OF 80 BLACK PHOTOGRAPHERS has come together to rally for change. See in Black was formed in response to the latest police killings and calls for racial justice. The group is harnessing its talent and resources to center Black visibility and invest in Black uplift. The photographers are selling prints for $100...
THE ARRAY OF IMAGES Frank Stewart has made over the course of his career is dizzying. He’s photographed African American culture in its many forms—art, food, dance, and music, jazz in particular. He’s made portraits of artists, shot barbecue in the South and Midwest, and captured the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He photographed a...
FOR MORE THAN A DOZEN DAYS NOW, people have been marching—flooding the streets, declaring “Black Lives Matter” and “I Can’t Breathe” on signs and t-shirts, and raising their voices demanding change. In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and countless others, protestors are...