EMPLOYING CARPETS left behind by the previous occupant of his Harlem studio, Nari Ward made an angel. He reinvented the carpets, cutting them down and forming tightly rolled segments, combining them with found plastic bags, plastic bottles, springs, wood screws, and rope, to create an airy, open-weave structure. He named the work “Carpet Angel.”...
INSTALLED ON THE EIGHTH FLOOR of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, a group exhibition celebrates color. “Spilling Over: Painting Color in the 1960s” considers the technical, formal, and substantive possibilities of painting with bold, neon, and saturated hues. Drawing exclusively on the Whitney Museum’s collection, the show brings together 18...
WORKS BY FIVE African American artists opened Christie’s contemporary sale on May 16, with exceptional results for women artists. Amy Sherald made her auction debut with a portrait that sold for three times the estimate. Mickalene Thomas achieved a new artist record and a painting by Jordan Casteel more than doubled expectations. A body...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE PULSATING RHYTHMS and dynamic energy of London’s reggae and dub nightclub scene in the early 1980s are palpable in the work of Denzil Forrester. His large-scale paintings are characterized by “vivid color, gestural brushstrokes, and frenetic compositions.” Spanning the four decades (1978-2019), new and historic works...
THE TITLE OF A FORTHCOMING exhibition at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is derived from Isabel Wilkerson’s critically acclaimed book “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.” The volume documents the migration of African Americans in the United States from the Jim Crow South to the industrial North...
THE SPRING CONTEMPORARY AUCTIONS at Phillips New York featured a variety of works by critically acclaimed African American artists—emerging, mid-career, and long-established figures. Lots sold against the backdrop of Mark Bradford’s “Helter Skelter II” (2007), which was on display behind the auctioneer’s podium over the course of three sales spanning two days. On May...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions DC MOORE GALLERY is presenting a nearly four-decade survey of David Driskell, the renowned artist, curator, art historian, and educator. The paintings, large and small, reflect the expanse of his interests, travels, and experiences. Driskell, 87, draws on a range of styles and techniques, from figuration and...
A SELF-PORTRAIT by Jordan Casteel sold at Phillips last night. The painting tells a visual story. It depicts the artist, documents a chronic health issue, and unpacks a narrative about her life in Denver before she enrolled in the MFA program at Yale and later participated in the artist-in-residence program at the Studio Museum...
SOTHEBY’S RECENT Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London featured 65 lots. Only 13 of the works were by women artists, but the representation was a milestone. According to Sotheby’s, it was the highest proportion of works by women the auction house has ever offered in an evening sale. Each season, the evening sale is...
THE YALE SCHOOL OF ART announced the appointment of Meleko Mokgosi as associate professor of painting/printmaking on May 14. A painter, Mokgosi uses figuration and representation to explore political themes, notions of democracy, and post-colonialism in Southern Africa. His tenure-track appointment begins July 2019. “As an artist and an educator, Meleko Mokgosi is dedicated...
From left, Gallery owner Karen Jenkins-Johnson and Ming Smith surrounded by Smith’s photographs displayed at the Jenkins Johnson booth at Frieze New York. | Photo by Victoria L. Valentine GALLERIES DISPLAYING WORKS by African American artists won both booth prizes at the latest edition of Frieze New York. Presenting works by pioneering photographer Ming...
ANDERSON COOPER is a CNN anchor, 60 Minutes correspondent, and art collector who owns works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Mark Bradford. Called “The Hood is Moody,” his Bradford work is made with end papers—rectangles of white tissue paper used to set hair. On Sunday, Cooper profiled Bradford on “60 Minutes,”...
“Seven Deadly Sins” (c. 1968) by Vivian Browne WHEN AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS were weighing issues of race and representation in the 1960s, Vivian Browne (1929-1993) went in a unique direction. She began making drawings and paintings of white men in various states of rant, rage, and rebellion. Their white dress shirts and neckties indicate...
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Talking about his work at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York, French-born artist Henri Abraham Univers said he uses a series of repeating elements that unify his paintings. Whether his subject is a child soldier in the Ivory Coast, where he grew up, or more mundane themes,...
NEW YORK, NY — One of the first booths visitors encountered at the latest edition of the 1:54 African Contemporary African Fair in New York displayed paintings by Nirit Takele and Henry “Mzili” Mujunga. While their work differs greatly, they have a common denominator. Both artists understand color and utilize it to great effect....
CBS NEWS reports on a broad range of issues and on occasion turns its attention to visual art. Last Saturday was one of those moments, when Simone Leigh was profiled on CBS This Morning. The network appearance is the latest development in a succession of new opportunities and recognition over the past five years, culminating...
NEW YORK, N.Y.— Frieze New York opens to the public today in Randall’s Island Park and runs through May 5. The eighth edition of the art fair features nearly 200 galleries from 26 countries. This year, there are plenty of opportunities to experience African American art and works by an international slate of black...
JUST ABOVE MIDTOWN (JAM) was a solution to a problem. Linda Goode Bryant founded the New York City art gallery in 1974. When the city’s museums and art galleries were less than welcoming to black artists, Bryant didn’t see the point in protesting or advocating for inclusion. Why beg to be recognized, she thought,...
THE NEW NOW SALE at Phillips London yielded six artist records, including a new benchmark for Sanford Biggers. “Sag, Harbor Honeystuckle” (2013) by Biggers sold for £27,500 ($35,945) fees included, an artist record, according to the auction house and the Artprice database. The mixed-media work is a repurposed quilt with fabric collage, acrylic, and...
AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS figured prominently in Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Curated auction. Works by 32 African American artists were offered, some rarely if ever shown publicly including a 2002 portrait of Malcolm X by Henry Taylor acquired directly from the artist and a pair of Robert Colescott interior scenes that give a nod to Roy...
New Obama Presidential Center Artist Commissions Include Lindsay Adams Painting Inspired by Langston Hughes Poem
Apr 26, 2025
Turner Prize 2025 Shortlist of Four British Artists Includes Nnena Kalu and Rene Matić
Apr 24, 2025
Diallo Simon-Ponte is Joining Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, as Inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs
Apr 23, 2025
On View: ‘Alberta Whittle: Towards a Motherful Loving Praxis, We Cast Seeds Into the Darkness’ at Nicola Vassell Gallery in New York
Apr 19, 2025
Jack Shainman Gallery Now Represents the Estate of Faith Ringgold, ‘Artist Played Significant Role in Shaping Culture of American Art’
Apr 17, 2025
