FOR HIS FIRST EXHIBITION at Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, D.C., Rushern Baker IV is presenting new paintings made between 2017 and 2019. Drawing on the current political climate, the works are fraught with urgency and anxiety. The unease is unrelenting. Baker’s energetic and frenetic abstractions invoke a range of concerns, from the perils...
Deborah Roberts is presenting “Native Sons: Many thousands gone” at Vielmetter Los Angeles VIELMETTER LOS ANGELES announced its representation of Deborah Roberts in late February and her first exhibition with the gallery opened last week. Roberts is known primarily for her collage on paper works. The Austin, Texas-based artist makes abstracted representations of black...
Emory Douglas talks about his graphic design work. His images have become synonymous with the visual identity of the Black Panther Party. | Video by AIGA THE GRAPHIC IMAGES of Emory Douglas communicated the Black Panther Party’s platform and programs. From 1967 to the early 1980s he developed the organization’s visual identity. He served...
TITUS KAPHAR and REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS, “Untitled (from the Redaction project),” 2019 (etching and silkscreen on paper, 22 x 30 inches). | Image courtesy Titus Kaphar Studio, Photo by Merik Goma On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions REDACTION is a collaboration between artist Titus Kaphar and attorney Reginald Dwayne Betts, who have...
MEMBERS OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY will be honored at the San Francisco Art Institute’s commencement on May 18. Emory Douglas, artist and minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, is receiving an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, which is described as the highest honor bestowed by the institution. Fellow Panther Party members...
MORE THAN 200 high-achieving individuals have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. On April 17, the academy announced new members for 2019 include poet and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander, artist Mark Bradford, Columbia University scholar/curator Kellie Jones, First Lady Michelle Obama, and actress and playwright Anna Deavere...
SOTHEBY’S LONDON has held four sales dedicated to modern and contemporary African art and tapestries by El Anatsui have topped three of them, including the most recent on April 2. A 10-foot sculptural tapestry composed of aluminum bottle caps and copper wire, “Zebra Crossing 2” (shown above) was made in 2007 and exceeded expectations....
LOS ANGELES-BASED Charles Gaines is the latest recipient of the prestigious Edward MacDowell Medal. The MacDowell Colony announced last week that Gaines was selected for the honor. He will receive the 60th MacDowell Medal on Aug. 11 at a free public event on the grounds of the colony in Peterborough, N.H. The recognition comes as...
Wangechi Mutu at the Metropolitan Museum of Art THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART in New York and the Tate Modern in London recently announced new artist commissions. The Met plans a series of contemporary art installations at its Fifth Avenue flagship. For one of the projects, Wangechi Mutu is creating sculptures that will be...
COLLEGE PARK, MD. — After writing biographies of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Sammie Davis Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson, and Thurgood Marshall, and a feature article published in The Washington Post that inspired the film “The Butler,” Wil Haygood authored his first exhibition catalog. “I Too Sing America: The Harlem Renaissance at 100” (Rizzoli Electa,...
THE LATEST SALE of African-American Fine Art at Swann Auction Galleries resulted in auction records for several living women artists, including Simone Leigh, Emma Amos and Howardena Pindell. In addition, works by Sonya Clark and Allison Janae Hamilton appeared at auction for the first time and established benchmarks well above their estimates. Lot 171:...
HAUSER & WIRTH is now representing artist Glenn Ligon. The gallery officially announced the news today, following an article about the representation published yesterday in ARTnews that cited an earlier report from Baer Faxt, a newsletter the covers the art industry. With language as a guiding force, Ligon explores American history and the African...
GAGOSIAN ANNOUNCED its representation of Nathaniel Mary Quinn yesterday. Working with family photos and images from fashion magazines, Quinn makes composite portraits that draw on memory and explore the complex relationship between reality and perception. He lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s mother died when he was a teenager. He...
“Untitled (Broken Men)” (2018) by Rashid Johnson On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions NEW WORKS by Rashid Johnson are on view in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Featured at Hauser & Wirth, the paintings, sculptures, and drawings build on themes Johnson has explored previously. Broken Men is a series of mosaic tile paintings that...
“What’s Goin On” (1974) by Barkley L. Hendricks A SECOND CALIFORNIA STOP has been added to the “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” tour. The exhibition is headed to the de Young Museum in San Francisco, where it will open Nov. 9. “Soul of a Nation” presents about 150...
Installation view of “Halter” (2019) by Eric N. Mack at Desert X The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related black culture: Harvard Sued for Profiting From Images of Slaves Tamara Lanier of Norwich, Conn., is suing Harvard for “wrongful...
A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN photograph of Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913) depicts her seated with her arm draped over the back of a chair. Impeccably dressed, she wears a full skirt and buttoned bodice with detailed stitching on the sleeves. Believed to be the earliest image of Tubman in existence, the portrait of the storied abolitionist...
Works by Florine Démosthène at Mariane Ibrahim, The Armory Show 2019 On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions AGAINST A GREEN BACKDROP, Mariane Ibrahim gallery showcased figurative works on paper by Florine Démosthène at The Armory Show earlier this month. The mixed-media collage works are composed of pigment, mylar, metallic leaf, and glitter....
THE GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (GRI) in Los Angeles announced a new hire today. LeRonn P. Brooks has been appointed associate curator for Modern and Contemporary Collections, specializing in African American art. Brooks is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Lehman College in The Bronx, New York. At the Getty, he...
THE FIFTH EDITION of Prospect New Orleans officially opens to the public Oct. 24, 2020 and runs through Jan. 24, 2021. The triennial will feature artists from around the world and engage resources throughout New Orleans—the cultural community, arts institutions, and local sites. Prospect.5 is led by curators Naima J. Keith and Diana Nawi....
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
