Michael Ray Charles: 20 Years Ago His Potent Images Confronting Racial Stereotypes Were Highly Controversial, Today They Feel Ripe for the Times
TWENTY YEARS AGO, Michael Ray Charles was a rare quantity—a Black contemporary artist with mainstream recognition. His potent and thought-provoking work explored African American representation in popular culture, employed blackface and caricature to confront racial stereotypes, and presented complex images aimed directly at America’s shameful history of slavery, subjugation, racial violence, and white supremacy....
South Africa-Based Artist Billie Zangewa is Now Represented by New York Gallery Lehmann Maupin, Her Silk ‘Paintings’ Center the Lives and Experiences of Women
“Soldier of Love” (2020) by Billie Zangewa DRESSED IN A KHAKI TRENCH COAT, Billie Zangewa holds her young son’s hand, escorting him to school. He wears a backpack and a school uniform. Lush green foliage crowds their path. Behind them, the sky is a luminous pink. The everyday scene is of the artist’s own...
