Kerry James Marshall Retrospective at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York Headlines Robust Fall Season of 50+ U.S. and European Exhibitions Featuring Black Artists
Kerry James Marshall’s retrospective, featuring “Untitled (Studio), opens at The Met Breuer Oct. 25. THE VISIONARY AND IMAGINATIVE PAINTINGS of Kerry James Marshall are coming to New York. Presenting 35 years of painting, “Mastry” is the largest retrospective of the artist’s work to date. After debuting at MCA Chicago in April, the exhibition opens...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Fall Exhibitions Open in New York, Los Angeles
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include news that Elizabeth Catlett‘s alma mater is attempting make amends for a decades-old discriminatory housing policy. David Adjaye and Chris Ofili may be lighting London’s historic bridges. Steve McQueen won the...
Retrospective: A Review of the Latest News in Black Art – Black Art Incubator Encourages Innovative Creative Exchange
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. In the last half of July 2016, highlights include the launch of Black Art Incubator, a dynamic New York space for artistic, intellectual and social exchange founded by four young art world influencers; the announcement...
Mining the Collection: Julie Mehretu, Rashid Johnson and Wangechi Mutu Discuss Compelling Works at the Met
“HOW DO YOU PAINT YOUR SLAVE?” artist Julie Mehretu wonders. She is looking at “Juan de Pareja,” a 1650 oil on canvas by Spanish painter Velázquez (1599–1660). She describes it as portrait of a black man with copper skin and brown eyes. “He was one of his primary assistants and he was his slave… The...
Winter Wonders: 44 Exhibitions Feature Exceptional Works by Black Artists
LONG OVERDUE, THE COLORFUL AND EXPRESSIVE abstract works of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), pictured above, are being celebrated with a groundbreaking retrospective at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College in upstate New York. This summer, Thomas’s first solo museum exhibition since 2001 will travel to the Studio Museum in Harlem, which is co-organizing the show....
Overdue: Recognition of Sam Gilliam’s Work Continues to Gain Momentum with Auction Record at Christie’s
FEATURED AMONG HIS CONTEMPORARIES, Sam Gilliam experienced a career milestone on Nov. 11. When his work “Empty,” a riot of color painted in 1972 (shown above), came up for auction, it not only exceeded expectations, it sold for more than 10 times the high estimate. Lot No. 228 at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art...
Art x Music: Art World Embraces Kanye West, Afrika Bambaataa and Drake
View image | gettyimages.com THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND MUSIC is increasingly ever present. Several new examples emerged over the past week. A cartoon-like action figure of Pharrell Williams entitled “Happy” was presented at the Perrotin Gallery booth at Art Basel Hong Kong (March 15-17). According to ARTnews, the small-scale sculpture by Japanese artist Mr....
25 Exhibitions for Your Winter 2015 Agenda
THIS WINTER IS PROVING TO BE UNPREDICTABLE, with massive snow expected one week and relatively mild temperatures the next. On the art front, the forecast this season is more reliable with a robust slate of exhibitions, from New York, San Francisco and Ontario to London and Munich, featuring a range of modern and contemporary black...
W Magazine Concludes 2014 with Coverage of Sam Gilliam, Rashid Johnson, Julie Mehretu and Kevin Beasley
OFFERING COVERAGE OF ARTS AND CULTURE that rivals its fashion reporting, W magazine has recently trained its lens on several Black artists. In November, articles were published on Sam Gilliam and Rashid Johnson. Though separated by nearly two generations, the artists are closely connected. Both are represented by David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles where...
Artforum Asks Artists, Critics and Curators to Name the Best of 2014
WHAT MAKES AN EXHIBITION exceptional? For artist Glenn Ligon, it must be “rigorous, challenging, and beautifully installed” and it really registers if it causes him to self reflect. “A good exhibition is one that makes me reconsider my own practice,” he says in Artforum. The magazine’s December “Best of 2014” issue takes a look back...
Assessing the Fall Contemporary Auctions in New York
ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN YOU and owning works by some of the most highly regarded artists practicing today is the wave of a paddle. Major auction houses are staging their fall contemporary sales this week. Works by El Anatsui, Chris Ofili, Mickalene Thomas and Glenn Ligon are up for consideration. Bidding is underway already with...
Art Agenda | Sept. 15-21, 2014
ART AGENDA LISTS UPCOMING EVENTS, must-see exhibition openings and interesting talks happening this week in black art. There are myriad activities across the nation from San Diego, Chicago and Minneapolis, to Boston, New York and Washington D.C. Today’s edition features “Funk, God, Jazz, Medicine: Black Radical Brooklyn,” Rashid Johnson’s production of “Dutchman,” Phillips “Under...
Fall Preview: The Season’s 16 Most-Anticipated Art Exhibitions
THE NEW EXHIBITION SEASON IS UNDERWAY and fall’s most anticipated museum and gallery shows are opening soon. In the coming months, 16 exhibitions will feature highly regarded and innovative black artists working across a range of mediums. Chris Ofili’s first major solo museum exhibition in the United States opens at the New Museum on Oct....
On Exhibit: What to See on Art Museum Day 2014
THE ASSOCIATION OF ART MUSEUM OF DIRECTORS is celebrating Art Museum Day on Sunday, May 18. For the fifth year, museums across the country are using the annual event to promote the cultural and educational benefits of their programming and encourage the public to visit. Participating museums are offering free or reduced admission and...
The Week in Black Art | May 10-16, 2014
A REVIEW OF THE WEEK’S NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE ART WORLD Featuring Yams Collective, Thomas J. Lax, Christian Rosa and contemporary auction results Yams Collective Pulls Out of Whitney Biennial As the final days of the Whitney Biennial approach, a race-related kerfuffle has emerged. The Yams, (shown above) a collective of 38...
‘Art Studio America’: Glenn Ligon Makes Those Text Paintings in an Old Canning Factory
WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE AN ARTIST’S WORK at a museum or gallery, do you wonder where it all came from? Where it was imagined, conceptualized and created? “Art Studio America: Contemporary Artist Spaces” answers these questions in spades, taking readers inside the studios of 116 artists from the West Coast to Chicago and New York and...
A ‘Freestyle’ Take on Post-Black Art
SINCE ITS FOUNDING in 1968, The Studio Museum in Harlem has been identifying and nurturing talented black artists, the next big names in contemporary art. Through its exhibitions and coveted residency program, countless accomplished black artists can point to a connection with the museum as a turning point in their careers—from Fred Wilson and Kara...
Black Artists Join Powerhouse Galleries
ART CRITIC JERRY SALTZ recently expressed his frustration with Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth and David Zwirner galleries in New York magazine, describing the four mega dealers as overwhelming behemoths causing much consternation in the art world. In the course of breaking down the situation, one of his most fascinating anecdotes involved artist Mark...
