MoAD San Francisco: Ann Johnson’s Embellished Basketball Hoops Explore Cultural Signifiers and Dreams Deferred
ANN JOHNSON, “Egyptian Collar,” 2002 (mixed media: beads, regulation goal and backboard, found objects, chain net, 48 inches long). | © Ann Johnson. Collection of Elliot Perry, Memphis, Tenn. THE FREIGHTED SYMBOLISM of basketball, its intrinsic connection to the Black community, and the elements used to play the sport (ball, hoop, and net) have...
Leilah Babirye’s Hand-Built Ceramic and Carved Wood Sculptures are Expressive Portraits of Her LGBTQ+ Community
Installation view of “Leilah Babirye: We Have a History,” de Young Museum, San Francisco, Calif., 2024. | Photo by Gary Sexton, Courtesy de Young Museum WORKING WITH TRADITIONAL ceramic and wood-carving methods from Western and Central Africa, Leilah Babirye (b. 1985) makes contemporary sculptures that are all her own. She produces hand-built ceramic busts...
Richard Mayhew at 100: Artistic Community Pays Tribute to ‘One of America’s Most Important Landscape Painters’
Richard Mayhew was born April 3, 1924 in Amityville, N.Y. The artist is shown in his studio in Soquel, Calif. | Courtesy Venus Over Manhattan, New York, N.Y. UPDATE (09/27/24): Richard Mayhew died on Sept. 26, 2024. His passing was confirmed by his representatives, ACA Galleries and Venus Over Manhattan, and reported by ARTnews...
David C. Howse Appointed President of California College of the Arts in San Francisco
California College of the Arts in San Francisco was established in 1907 and offers more than 30 programs and disciplines across art, design, architecture and writing. | Photo Courtesy CCA David C. Howse starts in the new role in December, joining the ranks of a few other African Americans leading U.S. art schools ...
On View: See Images From ‘Sydney Cain: Dust to Dust,’ Artist’s First Solo Exhibition at Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco
“I Am Everywhere (Sassafras)” (2021) by Sydney Cain On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions SAN FRANCISCO ARTIST Sydney Cain is presenting a series of large- and small-scale drawings at Rena Bransten Gallery. Employing figurative representation, the new works explore Black myth, ancestral memory, and liminal spaces. “Sydney Cain: Dust to Dust” is...
On View: See Images From ‘Oliver Lee Jackson: Vibrato’ Exhibition at Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco
Installation view of “Oliver Lee Jackson: Vibrato” On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A SURVEY OF WORKS by Oliver Lee Jackson (born 1935) is on view at Rena Bransten Gallery. “Vibrato” features mixed-media paintings, prints, and sculpture dating from the 1980s and 2009 to 2021. Infused with spirit and emotion, Jackson’s powerful...
Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco Will Host First Solo Museum Exhibitions of Amoako Boafo and Billie Zangewa This Fall
THE SEMINAL TEXT OF W.E.B. DU BOIS (1868-1963) inspired the title of a forthcoming solo exhibition of Amoako Boafo. The Ghanaian-born painter grew up in Osu, where Du Bois, the author of “The Souls of Black Folk” is buried. “Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks” will be on view this fall at the Museum...
The Week in Black Art, March 29-April 4, 2021: Artist Winfred Rembert Has Died, Curator Danielle A. Jackson is Going to Artists Space, Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle Appointed Online Director at Pace Gallery
This post will be updated with the latest news in Black art throughout the week Surviving a Lynching | Ashes to Ashes: An award-winning, short documentary made in 2019, considers artist Winfred Rembert’s traumatic experiences in the Jim Crow South, a narrative that reflects America’s dark history with racism and injustice. | Video...
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Hire Curator of African Art, Natasha Becker is First to Serve in Newly Created Position
THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS of San Francisco (the de Young and Legion of Honor) expanded their curatorial team at the end of the year, hiring an inaugural curator of African art. Natasha Becker officially started at the Museums in the newly created role on Dec. 1. Working in the department of the arts of Africa,...
Slated to Showcase African American Art This Season, San Francisco Museums and Galleries are Closed Due to Coronavirus
Works by Rosie Lee Tompkins at BAMPFA UNDER THE LEADERSHIP of Mayor London Breed, San Francisco has fared relatively well over the past couple of months. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has faced infections and deaths, but early actions by the mayor significantly contained its impact. As of May 4,...
