Kerry James Marshall’s ‘Past Times’ Painting Was Among Stars at Lavish 50th Birthday Party of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
BEFORE HE TURNED 50, Grammy award-winning music producer, entertainment mogul, and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs bought the most expensive painting by a living African American artist at auction. Earlier this month, Combs threw himself a huge 50th birthday bash and the painting, “Past Times” (1997) by Kerry James Marshall, served as a backdrop for party...
On the Rise: 47 Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in 2019
BLACK CURATORS have risen to significant positions at important institutions in the United States and internationally over the past year. In a field where people of color have historically been underrepresented, this 2019 listing of new curatorial and arts leadership appointments demonstrates the growing influence of people of African descent in the visual arts....
On View: Vanessa German, ‘Trampoline: Resilience & Black Body & Soul’ at Fort Gansevoort in New York
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions CANDID, HARSH, AND IMAGINATIVE, Vanessa German‘s mixed-media sculptures, assemblages, and wall-mounted altars are rich with narrative. Created to gird against the daily violence and indignities endured by black and brown people, her Power Figures possess joy, love, and soul protection. Pittsburgh-based German is a performance artist...
Lonnie G. Bunch III Officially Installed as 14th Secretary of Smithsonian Institution
IT’S OFFICIAL. Lonnie G. Bunch III was installed as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on Nov. 1. The ceremony was presided over by John G. Roberts Jr., chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, who serves as chancellor of the Smithsonian. Roberts presented Bunch with a ceremonial brass key, a symbolic...
Using His Camera as an Instrument, Frank Stewart Has Been Hanging with Jazz Musicians for Five Decades
MILES DAVIS HOLDING COURT with the press after a performance at Lincoln Center is one of Frank Stewart’s more well-known photographs. A camera flash shines bright aimed at Davis who is perched against a wall on the opposite side of the room, elevated slightly just above everyone, his shadow cast behind him. Stewart shot...
On View: ‘Detroit Collects: Selections of African American Art from Private Collections’ at Detroit Institute of Arts
AARON DOUGLAS, “Study for Haitian Mural, Wilmington, Delaware,” 1942 (oil on board). | Lent by Wilson A. and Deborah Fl. Copeland and Lauren F. C. N’Namdi On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions WHILE ATTENTION is often paid to patrons of the arts in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, for generations, the...
Acting in Solidarity, Four Artists Including Helen Cammock and Oscar Murillo Share 2019 Turner Prize
FOR THE FIRST TIME in its 35-year history, the Turner Prize was awarded to more than one artist. Helen Cammock and Oscar Murillo were among four artists shortlisted for the British art prize. On Dec. 3, it was awarded jointly to Cammock, Murillo, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, and Tai Shani in the wake of their...
Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Selections Inspired by African American Artists From Betye Saar to Nick Cave and Kehinde Wiley
MANY POPULAR AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS are making versions of their work more accessible through objects and products sold at museums and other outlets. A box of artist-inspired notecards, an artful calendar, or a new coffee table book makes the perfect gift. In November, “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power”...
Celebrating African American Art Every Month of the Year, 2020 Calendars Showcase Charles White, Ernie Barnes, Alma Thomas, Basquiat and Bearden
OVER THE PAST YEAR, an “African American Art” wall calendar has featured a succession of 19th and 20th century artists, each month showcasing works by William H. Johnson, Robert S. Duncanson, and James A. Porter, among others. Expressing support for Angela Davis, Charles White‘s “Love Letter” (1971) presided over October and this month Laura...
Fall Galas: Museums are Honoring the Young and Old and Bringing Artists Together Across Disciplines
IT’S GALA SEASON and museums have been hosting star-studded fetes honoring artists and raising funds to support their programs and venues. Artist Rashid Johnson was honored at Performa 19’s opening night gala, paid tribute to a fellow artist at the Dia Art Foundation, and co-chaired the Guggenheim Museum’s gala. (He serves as a trustee...
On View: ‘Woody De Othello: Breathing Room’ at San José Museum of Art
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE SAN JOSÉ MUSEUM OF ART acquired “Defeated, depleted,” (2018) by Woody De Othello last year. Shiny, black, anthropomorphic, and collapsing in on itself, the ceramic sculpture (above left) inspired a body of work now on view at the museum. “Breathing Room” is De Othello’s first museum...
AFRICOBRA in Venice: Curated by Jeffreen Hayes, ‘Nation Time’ Explores the Powerful Roots and History of the Collective
FIVE LIKE-MINDED ARTISTS came together half a century ago with a common purpose. Jeff Donaldson (1932-2004), Wadsworth Jarrell, Jae Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017), and Gerald Williams met in Wadsworth’s studio on the South Side of Chicago and committed to harnessing the power of their collective artistic voice. The artists formed AFRICOBRA in 1968 and...
Latest News in African American Art: Guggenheim Hires First Black Curator and Names Hugo Boss Prize Finalists, de Young Museum Acquires Frank Bowling Painting
FRANK BOWLING (b. 1934), “Penumbra” (1970) (acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 8 X 23 feet). | de Young Musuem, Photo by Gary Sexton The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: NEWS ACQUISITIONS | The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (which comprise...
Kerry James Marshall Painting Goes For Nearly $18.5 Million at Sotheby’s, Second-Highest Price at Auction for a Work by a Living African American Artist
AN IMAGE OF BLACK LOVE by Kerry James Marshall was highly sought this week. Nearly six-feet tall, “Vignette 19” (2014) depicts three couples captured in a park-like vignette framed with strokes of pink and a glittery heart. Offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction on Nov. 14 in New York, the painting was expected...
11 Black Artists, Curators, Scholars and a Collector Made Art Review’s 2019 List of the Most Powerful People in the Art World
A GROUNDBREAKING REPORT published in November 2018 declared the restitution of Africa’s cultural heritage was “impossible no more.” Commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, the document is authored by French art historian Bénédicte Savoy and Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr and examines the history, inventory, and display of ill-gotten artifacts and art objects of questionable...
Torkwase Dyson, Whose Work Grapples with Black Spacial Politics, Wins Studio Museum’s 2019 Wein Artist Prize
THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM presented the 2019 Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize to Torkwase Dyson at its annual gala this evening in New York City. The $50,000 prize is awarded annually to an African American artist recognizing exceptional “innovation, promise, and creativity.” Dyson’s interdisciplinary practice is centered around black spatial politics. She considers...
Latest News in African American Art: Gus Casely-Hayford Headed to V&A Museum, Betye Saar and Indira Allegra Win Major Artist Awards & More
Gus Casely-Hayford is the inaugural director of V&A East in London The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: NEWS APPOINTMENT | Gus Casely-Hayford is joining the Victoria & Albert Museum in London as inaugural director of V&A East. He is heading up two...
The Week Ahead: Art World Power, Major Artist Awards, and Million Dollar Auctions
THIS IS A BIG WEEK IN ART. Wednesday evening, the Studio Museum in Harlem is announcing the winner of the annual Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize at its 2019 gala. Last year, Los Angeles-based textile artist Diedrick Brackens received the $50,000 prize. Simone Leigh won in 2017. The latest Power 100 List is also...
Dread Scott’s Slave Rebellion is Finally Happening With Hundreds of Re-Enactors Marching 26 Miles Headed For New Orleans
FOR SIX YEARS, Dread Scott has been planning a slave rebellion. The artist wants to bring attention to a fight for freedom waged more than two centuries ago by hundreds of African, American, and Haitian-born people in the Mississippi River parishes outside New Orleans. Scott is reimagining the German Coast Uprising of 1811. It...
Latest News in African American Art: Tom Finkelpearl Abruptly Departs NYC Cultural Affairs, Okwui Enwezor’s Last Exhibition, Prospect New Orleans & More
NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl made a “surprise exit.” The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: NEWS Big news in arts leadership. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is losing the chair of its education department. Sandra Jackson-Dumont has been named director...
