SPANNING CIVIL RIGHTS, SLAVERY, MUSIC AND FILM, historic treasures and one-of-a-kind documents related to key figures of African American history and culture were auctioned at Guernsey’s in New York on July 25 and 26. The headliner was a true rarity—the family home of Rosa Parks, which once stood in Detroit, where it had been...
“Fountain (reparations version)” (2016-17) by Pope.L EARLIER THIS MONTH, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh announced several new acquisitions, including “Fountain (reparations version)” (2016-17) by Chicago-based Pope.L. The sculpture is on view in the modern and contemporary galleries which have been re-hung to reflect the “depth, diversity, and eccentricities” of the Carnegie Museum’s...
This December/January 2018 cover of Paris Vogue conjures the style of Mickalene Thomas, but the image was created by Juergen Teller. The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS The benefactor behind Anonymous Was a Woman, which...
THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY of the Fine Arts (PAFA) recently acquired a particularly meaningful painting. “Morris Heights, N.Y. City” (1912) is an Impressionist landscape made by May Howard Jackson (1877-1931) more than a century ago. Jackson is a PAFA alum. She earned a scholarship in 1895 and became the first African American woman to attend...
Jacolby Satterwhite performing at SFMOMA in 2016. CONCEPTUAL ARTIST Jacolby Satterwhite has joined Mitchell-Innes & Nash. Satterwhite works in 3-D animation and performance. Trained as a painter, he has mastered new technology and the use of his body as a vessel for expression. He innovative practice harnesses these seemingly disparate assets to address key...
“Flag Story Quilt” (1985) by Faith Ringgold is currently on view at the Spencer Museum of Art. THE AMERICAN FLAG, its design and all that it symbolizes, is the basis for some of the most politically potent and astute work Faith Ringgold has made over the past half century. In 1970, she helped organize...
CHICAGO-BASED ARTIST Tony Lewis has joined Blum & Poe. The gallery announced its representation of the Lewis one year after hosting its first show with the artist. “Tony Lewis: Jot” (April 28-June 17, 2017) presented new colored pencil and graphite drawings and was also the artist’s first exhibition in Los Angeles. Lewis’s expansive engagement...
Front row, from left, Melanie Keen, Amira Gad, and Zoe Whitley (second from right), are among the UK curators selecting women artists for a special section at Frieze London. | Photo by Tom Jamieson, Frieze London The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African...
TREVOR SCHOONMAKER took on a new role at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University this week. He was appointed Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art. Schoonmaker, 47, has been with the museum virtually from its beginning. The Nasher Museum opened in 2006...
“9.11.01”by Jack Whitten is one of seven acquisitions made with proceeds from the deaccessioned works. COMMITTED TO DIVERSIFYING its holdings, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced major acquisitions by prominent artists of African descent, including the first works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien, Amy Sherald, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye to enter the museum’s...
Glenn Ligon spoke at The New School’s 2018 commencement on May 18. A NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS were declared doctors over the past month. Invited to participate in commencement ceremonies for undergraduate and MFA students at institutions around the country, prominent artists, critics, and curators were bestowed honorary doctorate degrees. Addressing 2018 graduates,...
When Nina Simone’s childhood home was in danger of demolition, four prominent artists bought it for $95,000. The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS Artists Adam Pendleton, Ellen Gallagher, Rashid Johnson, and Julie Mehretu came together...
The acquisitions included “Untitled (Frustula Series),” a circa 1978 cast concrete sculpture by Beverly Buchanan. THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM recently organized more than a year of exhibitions and programming dedicated to feminist art. “A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum” marked the 10th anniversary of the museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for...
TWO EARLY PAINTINGS by Emma Amos are featured in “We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85” (April 21–Sept. 17, 2017), the groundbreaking group exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum. “Sandy and Her Husband” and “Flower Sniffer,” a 1966 self-portrait by Amos, are displayed side-by-side in the show. After the Brooklyn Museum recently announced...
FOR THEIR LATEST VIDEO, Beyoncé and Jay-Z took over the Louvre, stunting and styling through the galleries without a tourist in sight. The Paris museum played host to the Carters who dropped a surprise album on Saturday. The nine-track collaborative project is titled “Everything is Love” and both artists appear on every track including...
“The Music of Color: Sam Gilliam, 1967-1973” recently opened in Basel, Switzerland. THE GALLERIES OF KUNSTMUSEUM BASEL are alive with color in the form of 45 abstract paintings by Sam Gilliam. “The Music of Color: Sam Gilliam, 1967-1973” is the Washington, D.C.-based artist’s first solo survey exhibition in a European museum. The show is...
IN RELATABLE IMAGES, Meleko Mokgosi explores weighty themes. He makes history paintings about the politics, culture, and history of Southern Africa. Post-colonial scenes of the quotidian are visions of democracy. For five years, Mokgosi has been pursuing “Democratic Intuition” (2014-present), a singular project, composed of eight chapters, each realized as an exhibition. The latest...
Anthea Hamilton lives and works in London. THOMAS DANE GALLERY recently announced its representation of Anthea Hamilton. The British multidisciplinary artist, whose practice is defined by wit and rigor, was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2016. More recently, she was selected to present the 2018 Tate Britain Commission, which is currently on display...
THE LATEST EDITION of Cultured Magazine features Alicia Keys-Dean and Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean. The married couple posed for their first-ever cover together for the magazine’s July/August 2018 issue. In the accompanying article by Rebecca Bengal, the increasingly influential art collectors and music industry powerhouses discuss their relationship with each other, their connections with...
THE ESTATE OF AMERICAN ARTIST Roy DeCarava (1919–2009) is now represented worldwide by David Zwirner gallery. DeCarava trained as a painter and draftsman, before dedicating his career to photography in the mid-1940s. Through his lens, images of modern life in New York City were defined by light and shadow. The photographer’s best-known project is...
Vogue’s ‘Black Dandy’ Issue is Fashion Forward and Artist Centered, Featuring Photographs by Tyler Mitchell and Cover Painted by Henry Taylor
May 2, 2025
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
