THE ART, EXHIBITIONS, AND PROGRAMMING featured in museums and cultural institutions are largely shaped, guided and decided upon by curators, an elite group lacking racial and ethnic diversity. A recent survey from the Mellon Foundation found that representation for black curators (and conservators, educators and leaders) in the museum sector is dismal—just 4 percent. To...
SOME OF THE BEST ART BOOKS published this year focus on the past and the present. Exhibition catalogs such as “We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women 1965-85” and “Soul of a “Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power,” and the scholarly publication “South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in...
SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. From left, Artists Emeka Ogboh and Simone Leigh made the shortlist for the 2018 Hugo Boss Prize. | From left, Photos by Adolphus Opara and Paul Mpagi...
THIS SPRING, Jack Whitten is sharing a previously unknown aspect of his practice with the public for the first time. “Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963-2016” opens at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) on April 22, 2018. Co-organized with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the show will feature 40 sculptures Whitten...
HOWARDENA PINDELL, Detail of “Oval Memory Series II: Castle Dragon,” 1980-81. LAST YEAR, ANDREA BOWERS was in conversation with Martha Rosler at the Dia Art Foundation. The two artists discussed “If You Lived Here…,” a project about homelessness and real estate in New York City Rosler presented at the Dia in 1989. Invited to...
THE PRINCIPLES AND COLLECTIVE AESTHETIC established by AfriCOBRA in 1968 are evident in the work of Gerald Williams. Exploring culture, place, and identity from a global perspective, works by the Chicago artist are on view in the Kavi Gupta booth at Art Basel Miami Beach. Williams, a co-founder of AfriCOBRA, the artist collective that...
THE DC MOORE GALLERY booth at Art Basel Miami Beach is devoted to paintings by David Driskell from the 1960s and 70s, a turbulent period in American history. Defined by an earnest use of color and deft symbolism, his paintings and collages express modern sensibilities and blend European, American, and African art forms. Work...
AFTER MUCH ANTICIPATION, the winner of Britain’s most prestigious art prize has been announced. Lubaina Himid, 63, was awarded the 2017 Turner Prize on Tuesday. Her selection is groundbreaking. She is the first black woman to get the prize and she is also the oldest artist to earn the honor, after a rule change...
THE SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM is benefitting from the largesse of a collector who developed an appreciation for art through visiting the institution as a child. Ronald Ollie grew up in St. Louis and was exposed to the museum by his parents. Eventually he became an art collector. Now based in New Jersey, Ollie...
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS have acquired a monumental drawing from one of this fall’s most talked about gallery exhibitions. Kara Walker‘s “U.S.A. Idioms” was purchased from “the Most Astounding and Important Painting Show of the Fall Viewing Season!,” an exhibition of new works on paper by Walker at Sikkema Jenkins. The show opened Sept. 7...
SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. Pérez Art Museum Miami is among 20 institutions benefitting from diversity initiative supported by Ford and Walton Family foundations. $6 Million Initiative Aims to Diversify...
WITH TWO MAJOR MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS on the horizon, Blum & Poe announced its representation of the estate of Robert Colescott (1925-2009). The thinking man’s provocateur, Colescott challenged art history and reinterpreted American history, painting transgressive, racially and sexually charged scenes with wit, insight, and imagination. Blum & Poe made the announcement on Dec. 1,...
AN EXHIBITION POSTER featuring “Bid ‘Em In/Slave (Angie)” by Barkley Hendricks (1945-2017) was produced on the occasion of “Black Fire: A Constant State of Revolution,” a 2015-16 group show at the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, Neb. I discovered the poster last spring, shortly after the artist died. The image features a female...
JAY Z IS FEATURED on the latest cover of T magazine, the New York Times style publication. A painting by Henry Taylor,—a portrait of the rapper, music mogul, and business man—illustrates a wide-ranging interview conducted by Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the Times. The newspaper’s top editor doesn’t often stray from his leadership...
EXCEPTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS tell amazing stories. Through images by and about people of African descent, a number of recently published volumes further reveal the personalities, places, cultures and issues that have captured our imaginations and surface others largely overlooked. Must haves for the photography enthusiasts on your gift list, these titles span fine art, documentary, and...
BIGGIE SMALLS APPEARS ON THE COVER of the latest edition of Frieze magazine. The slain rapper is wearing one of his signature Cosby sweaters, a gold chain and dark shades. His image is emblazoned on a red hoodie worn by Quentin, an African American man who is the subject of a painting by Jordan...
BARBARA JONES-HOGU, “Unite (First State),” 1969 (screenprint). | © Barbara Jones-Hogu, Courtesy Lusenhop Fine Art THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT has lost a central figure. Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017), a founding member of the artist collective AfriCOBRA, died Nov. 14. The Chicago artist, educator, and filmmaker, was 79. Recognized for her political, pro-Black images combining figuration...
“The Hours Behind You” (2011) by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye A MESMERIZING IMAGE of five black women attracted record-breaking interest at Sotheby’s New York on Nov. 16. “The Hours Behind You” (2011) by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye sold for $1,575,000 (including fees), a world record for the British-Ghanaian painter, according to Sotheby’s sales results. Estimated to attract bids...
Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017). | Photo by David Lusenhop SURVEY is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT has lost a significant figure. A founding member of the artist collective AfriCOBRA, Barbara...
FOLLOWING HIS PARTICIPATION in the 2017 Whitney Biennial earlier this year, Lyle Ashton Harris has a new gallery and a new monograph. This week, Salon 94 announced its representation of the New York-based artist whose latest book, “Today I Shall Judge Nothing That Occurs: Selections from the Ektachrome Archive,” was just published by Aperture....
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