Auction Records: At Sotheby’s, Julie Mehretu, Barbara Chase-Riboud, and Barkley L. Hendricks Reach New Heights, Major Kerry James Marshall Painting Finds One Bidder
BLACK FEMALE ARTISTS had a great night at Sotheby’s New York. “Walkers With the Dawn and Morning” (2008), an intense storm of hazy grays by Julie Mehretu, set a historic new artist record, pushing the her high mark to more than $10.7 million. Pioneering sculptor Barbara Chase-Riboud also achieved a record result and young British...
Julie Mehretu Painting Sells for $9.3 Million, Setting Auction Record For a Work by an African-Born Artist, Also New Benchmark For Black Female Artist Living or Dead
A LARGE-SCALE, ABSTRACT, two-part painting by Julie Mehretu set a new auction record. The untitled work made in 2001 sold earlier this month in the Contemporary Evening Auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for more than $9.3 million (HKD 72,979,000), establishing a new high-mark for an African-born artist. Mehretu was born in Ethiopia, grew up in...
Christina Quarles, Simone Leigh, and Jennifer Packer Set Soaring New Records at Sotheby’s New Now Evening Auction, Kerry James Marshall Painting is Top Lot
INTRODUCED AS A COMPLEMENT to Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction, the New Now Evening Auction is distinguished by its currency. The auction “focuses on the art of our time, offering the most exciting, cutting-edge works on the market.” The second edition of the sale was an attention getter with works by women representing more than...
Latest News in Black Art: Estate of Thornton Dial and Kevin Beasley Join New Galleries, Julie Mehretu and Kehinde Wiley Collaborate with American Express, Smithsonian Launches Searchable Museum & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture THORNTON DIAL, “History Refused to Die,” 2004 (okra stalks and roots, clothing, collages drawings, tin, wire, steel, Masonite, steel chain, enamel, and spray paint, 102 x 87 x 23 inches). | © Estate of Thornton...
Auction Record: 3 Ernie Barnes Paintings Exceed $100K for First Time, Plus Bob Thompson and ‘White Male For Sale’
THREE 1970s PAINTINGS by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) sold for more than $100,000 each on Oct. 1, marking the first time a work by Barnes sold for more than six figures at auction. Two of the paintings sold for nearly $300,000 each. The results were more than three times the artist’s previous record and set...
Latest News in Black Art: Ghanaian Artist Atta Kwami Has Died, Julie Mehretu Joins Whitney Museum Board, Bisa Butler Portrait of Questlove Covers New York Times Magazine & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Atta Kwami, 2019. | Photo: Modern Painters, New Decorators, Courtesy Serpentine Galleries UK-BASED, GHANAIAN ARTIST and printmaker Atta Kwami (1956-2021) has died. He was 65. Kwami’s paintings, murals, and kiosk sculptures are informed by...
August in New York: 8 Gallery Exhibitions to See Now Feature Texas Isaiah, Arcmanoro Niles, Julie Mehretu, Cal Bocicault, and Fascinating Landscapes
THE CHURN OF THE NEW YORK ART WORLD slows down in August with many art galleries on hiatus until after Labor Day. Nonetheless, in the waning days of August, there is still plenty to see in New York, this week and next, before the transition to fall shows in September. Terrific solo exhibitions and...
Latest News in Black Art: Julie Mehretu Benefit Auction Sets New Record, Vanessa German Joins Kasmin, Gordon Parks Documentary, Jean-Michel Basquiat & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture vanessa german in her exhibition “MATRIX 174/i come to do violence to the lie” (2016), Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Conn. | Photo by Allen Phillips/Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art Representation Kasmin announced...
What to See in Los Angeles: 15 Exhibitions Feature Ja’Tovia Gary, Hank Willis Thomas, Betye Saar, Lauren Halsey, Julie Mehretu, Arcmanoro Niles, and More
IN LOS ANGELES, it’s art fair season. Frieze Los Angeles is open for its second year at Paramount Pictures Studios. Art Los Angeles Contemporary is happening at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is hosting the Felix art fair and Spring/Break is at Skylight ROW DTLA. At The Kinney in Venice, stARTup...
Culture Type Picks: 14 Best Black Art Books of 2019
BLACK ARTISTS spanning generations are receiving more and more critical recognition and opportunities. Some of the most compelling illustrated art books published in 2019 are monographs contributing to the much-deserved and in many cases long-overdue attention of individual artists. New volumes are dedicated to Kwame Braithwaite, Robert Colescott, Lubaina Himid, Suzanne Jackson, and Julie...
Feb. 13-16: Students and Art Historians Are Gathering in New York City for the College Art Association Conference
From left, Howardena Pindell is receiving the 2019 Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement and Joyce J. Scott is delivering the CAA conference keynote address. THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE of the College Art Association (CAA) is happening this week in New York City. Students and art historians are gathering at the New York Hilton Midtown...
Julie Mehretu Will Be the Subject of a Major Traveling Retrospective in 2019
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA) and Whitney Museum of American Art are co-organizing the first-ever comprehensive retrospective of Julie Mehretu. The traveling mid-career survey will feature more than 60 works, about 30 large-scale paintings and 32 works on paper (drawings and prints) dating from 1996 to the present. The exhibition is...
Looking in London: 10 Exhibitions to See This Season Featuring Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, and Adam Pendleton Among Others
YEAR AFTER YEAR, serious art aficionados descend on various locales around the world for art fairs, biennials, and major exhibition opening. The rolling schedule unfolds in New York, Basel, Paris, Venice, Berlin, Chicago, Miami, Johannesburg, Lagos, Los Angeles, and beyond. Each fall brings buyers and lookers to London for the 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair,...
Frieze London: Black Artists, Women in Particular, are Notably Present in Select Programming and Exhibitions
“Untitled” (1998) by Berni Searle FRIEZE LONDON AND FRIEZE MASTERS officially open to the public today and black women are notably present. This afternoon, artist Julie Mehretu will be in conversation with Thelma Golden of the Studio Museum in Harlem. The conversation is part of Frieze Masters Talks, which is focusing on women speakers...
Whitney Museum Acquired 417 Works Recently, Faith Ringgold, Derrick Adams, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Julie Mehretu are Among the Artists Represented
“Husband and Wife” (2017) is one of three works by Toyin Ojih Odutola acquired by the Whitney Museum. FOR A YEAR, THE WHITNEY MUSUEM of American Art displayed “Hate Is a Sin Flag” a 2007 work by Faith Ringgold. It is a relatively small print, about 19 inches square, that makes a profound statement....
Latest News in African American Art: Nationwide Campaign Will Fund Political Billboards, Julie Mehretu Joins SFMOMA Board, Henry Taylor Wins De Niro Prize
For Freedoms launched a nationwide crowd-sourcing campaign to fund artist-designed billboards for display in advance of the 2018 midterm elections in the United States. 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 Brodsky Center, a collaborative...
Creating Space: Here’s the List of 42 Artists Whose Works Are For Sale at Sotheby’s to Benefit the Studio Museum in Harlem
Lot 3: LYNETTE YIADOM-BOAKYE, “An Assistance of Amber,” 2017 (oil on linen). | Estimate $100,000-$150,000. Sold for $555,000 including fees THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM and Sotheby’s are collaborating on a major sale of works by some of the most prominent and critically recognized artists of African descent working today. Artists including Mark Bradford,...
The Week in African American Art: LACMA Acquisitions Include Works by Julie Mehretu, Betye Saar & More
ACQUISITIONS | Julie Mehretu, “Epigraph, Damascus,” 2016. | Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Kelvin Davis and Hana Kim through the 2018 Collectors Committee, © Julie Mehretu, Photo by Malcolm Varon The following review of the past week presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related...
The Broad Acquires Mark Bradford’s Record-Setting ‘Helter Skelter I,’ Along with Works by Julie Mehretu, Kerry James Marshall
Detail of Mark Bradford’s “Helter Skelter I” (2007). ART MARKET HISTORY WAS MADE earlier this month when “Helter Skelter I,” a monumental painting by Mark Bradford sold for $10.4 million (nearly $12 million, including fees) at Phillips London. The price was the highest-ever achieved at auction for a work by a living African American...
The Artist Project: New Volume Explores What Artists See, What Inspires Them, When They Look at Art at The Met Museum
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...
