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 subject whose confident stance and style make a complex statement, at once feminine, sexual, and political. A powerful example of the distinctive portraits for which Hendricks is recognized, the poster is still for sale through the university museum’s online store.
Posters have been made available for a number of recent museum exhibitions featuring critically acclaimed artists of African descent. They are affordable and make excellent gifts for art lovers who have a penchant for exhibition merchandise. Beyond their visual appeal and commemorative function, there’s a greater upside. Proceeds from museum shop purchases benefit institutional programming and exhibitions. In a recent Artsy article, Susan Tudor, second vice president of the Museum Store Association Board of Directors and store buyer for the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Fla., said: “When you’re shopping, you’re giving back to the museum.” Plus, you never know. Rare exhibition posters from decades ago, are collectible today. CT
BARKLEY L. HENDRICKS, “Bid ‘Em In/Slave (Angie),” 1973. | Poster Specifications: dimensions 24 x 36 inches, printed on Kodak archival photo paper
Barkley L. Hendricks Exhibition Poster, Bid ‘Em In/Slave (Angie), $28
Produced for “Black Fire: A Constant State of Revolution,” a group exhibition, at Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Sept. 11, 2015-Jan. 3, 2016
BARKLEY HENDRICKS, “What’s Going On,” | Poster Specifications: dimensions 50 x 70 cm, Giclée printed on 250gsm fine art paper
Barkley Hendricks Exhibition Poster, What’s Going On, £15
Produced for “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power,” at Tate Modern in London, July 12-Oct. 22, 2017
LYNETTE YIADOM-BOARKYE, “The Matters,” 2016 (oil on linen). | Poster Specifications: dimensions 24 x 36 inches
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Exhibition Poster, The Matters, $18
Produced for “Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Under-Song For A Cipher,” a presentation of 17 new paintings by the British artist, at the New Museum, New York, N.Y., May 3-Sept. 3, 2017
LYNETTE YIADOM-BOARKYE, “Medicine at Playtime,” 2017 (oil on linen). | Poster Specifications: dimensions 24 x 36 inches
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Exhibition Poster, Medicine at Playtime, $18
Produced for “Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Under-Song For A Cipher,” a presentation of 17 new paintings by the British artist, at the New Museum, New York, N.Y., May 3-Sept. 3, 2017
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, “Club Couple,” 2014 (acrylic on PCV panel) – The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, promised gift of Mandy and Cliff Einstein. | Poster Specifications: dimensions 22 x 28 inches (55.9 x 71.1 cm), offset lithograph
Kerry James Marshall Exhibition Poster, Club Couple, $18
Produced for “Kerry James Marshall: Mastry,” the artist’s 30-year survey, at MOCA Los Angeles, March 12-July 3, 2017
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, “Untitled,” 2009 (acrylic on PVC panel) – Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with the Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund and a gift from Jacqueline L. Bradley. | Poster Specifications: dimensions 22 x 28 inches (55.9 x 71.1 cm), offset lithograph
Kerry James Marshall Exhibition Poster, Untitled (Painter), $18
Produced for “Kerry James Marshall: Mastry,” the artist’s 30-year survey, at MOCA Los Angeles, March 12-July 3, 2017
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, “Untitled (Studio),” 2014. Rights and Reproduction: © Kerry James Marshall | Poster Specifications: dimensions 26.5 x 32.5
Kerry James Marshall Exhibition Poster, Untitled (Studio), $28
Produced for “Kerry James Marshall: Mastry,” the artist’s 30-year survey, at The Met Breuer, New York, N.Y., Oct. 25, 2016-Jan. 29, 2017
CHRIS OFILI, “Ovid-Desire,” 2011–12 (oil, pastel, and charcoal on linen). | Poster Specifications: dimensions 36 x 24 inches
Chris Ofili Exhibition Poster, Ovid Desire, $10
Produced for “Chris Ofili: Night and Day,” the artist’s first major solo museum exhibition in the United States, at the New Museum, New York, N.Y., Oct. 29, 2014-Feb. 1, 2015
MARK BRADFORD Exhibition title wall. | Poster Specifications: 24 x 26 inches
Mark Bradford Exhibition Poster, $9.95
Produced for “Mark Bradford,” the artist’s first survey exhibition, at ICA Boston, Nov. 19, 2010-March 13, 2011
Art galleries are also selling posters for some exhibitions. A selected sample is featured below.
GLENN LIGON, “Live,” 2014 (seven-channel video, duration: 80 minutes). | Poster Specifications: dimensions 18 x 24 inches
Glenn Ligon Exhibition Poster, “Live,” $10
Produced for “Glenn Ligon: We Need To Wake Up Cause That’s What Time It Is,” a silent video installation based on Richard Pryor’s 1982 film “Live on the Sunset Strip,” at Luhring Augustine Bushwick, Brooklyn, N.Y., Jan. 16-April 17, 2016
GLENN LIGON, “Untitled,” 2016 (From a suite of 17 archival pigment prints, Edition of 5 and 1 artist’s proof). | Poster Specifications: dimensions 18 x 24 inches
Glenn Ligon Exhibition Poster, Untitled, $10
Produced for “Glenn Ligon: What We Said Last Time,” featuring a new suite of prints inspired by James Baldwin’s seminal 1953 essay “Stranger in the Village,” at Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York, N.Y., February 27 – April 2, 2016
JASON MORAN. | Poster Specifications: dimensions 17 x 22 inches
Jason Moran Exhibition Poster, $10
Produced for “Jason Moran: Staged,” the musician/composer/artist’s first-ever solo exhibition, at Luhring Augustine Bushwick, Brooklyn, N.Y., April 29–July 29, 2016
ELLEN GALLAGHER, deLuxe. | Poster Specifications: dimensions 35 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches (90 x 69.8 cm)
Ellen Gallagher Exhibition Poster, deLuxe, $20
Produced for “Ellen Gallagher: deLuxe,” an installation of a 60-print portfolio, at Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y., Jan. 27-May 15, 2005 (for sale via Gagosian Gallery)
* Prices as advertised at time of publication. Museum prices may be slightly reduced for museum members.
BOOKSHELF
“Kerry James Marshall: Mastry,” a comprehensive, cloth-covered catalog was published to accompany the artist’s 30-year survey. “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” documents the exhibition organized by the Tate Modern museum in London, which will be presented in the United States next year at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Brooklyn Museum. Coinciding with the British artist’s exhibition at the New Museum in New York, “Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Under-Song for a Cipher” was published earlier this year.
