Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture
Alexander Harrison. | Photo by Diego Flores
Representation
Kasmin in New York announced its representation of painter Alexander Harrison (b. 1993) on Dec. 4. Born in Greenville, S.C., Harrison lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y. “Alexander Harrison: Big World,” his first solo exhibition with Kasmin, was on view in January and the gallery featured a work on paper by the artist at Art Basel Miami Beach last week. “Harrison’s enigmatic paintings of dreamscapes and object-symbols blend illusion and fantasy with archetypes from cultural history to render a vivid universe that is at once inviting and inaccessible,” the gallery announcement said. “Mining his experiences growing up in Marietta, South Carolina, Harrison explores the psychic reverberations of America’s deeply entrenched racism, as well as the role of the artist and the responsibilities inherent in representation. These themes emerge in Harrison’s work through the motif of the Black cowboy, a persona partially based on the artist’s own grandfather.” (12/4). | More
Awards & Honors
The International Center of Photography announced five women are the recipients of the 40th Annual ICP Infinity Awards: Shirin Neshat for Lifetime Achievement; Lynsey Addario for Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism; Wendy Red Star for Contemporary Photography and New Media; Renell Medrano for Commercial and Editorial Photography; and Caryl S. Englander, who is receiving the Trustees Award. A Bronx, N.Y., photographer and director, Medrano “focuses on finding vulnerability in her subjects, drawing inspiration from New York City and her motherland of the Dominican Republic.” The Infinity Awards will be presented at The Shed in New York City on April 10, 2024. (12/4) | More
Cultured magazine added a new feature to its annual Young Artists list, a new Young Artists Prize. The inaugural recipient is Kahlil Robert Irving. The St. Louis, Mo.-based ceramic artist “turns discarded and found materials into biting social commentary on the experiences of his community.” (12/5) | More
New Appointments: From left, Kevin Tervala will lead the curatorial team at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Anoinette Roberts is joining the contemporary art department. | Photos by Maximilian Franz (Kevin Tervala) and Photo Mission Studio (Antoinette Roberts)
Appointments
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced two new appointments. Kevin Tervala was named chief curator, after serving in the role on an interim basis since February. A scholar of African art and material culture, Tervala was previously BMA’s department head for the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Antoinette Roberts was appointed assistant curator of contemporary art. She is a curatorial assistant in the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she is helping with the development of the forthcoming exhibition “LaToya Ruby Frazier: Monuments of Solidarity.” Roberts officially starts in February 2024 at the BMA, where she will be working with Jessica Bell Brown, curator and department head of Contemporary Art. | More
Meg Onli and Chrissie Iles, who are co-organizing the 2024 Whitney Biennial, have tapped five curators to help lead the exhibition’s film and performance program. The additional curators are Korakrit Arunanondchai, asinnajaq, Taja Cheek, Greg de Cuir Jr., and Zackary Drucker. A Brooklyn-based curator and musician (known professionally a L’Rain), Cheek will focus on the performance program. She led performance programming at MoMA PS1 and has also produced projects with Creative Time, Weeksville Heritage Center, and The High Line. de Cuir is the co-founder and artistic director of Kinopravda Institute. Located in Belgrade, Serbia, the institute focuses on 21st century cinematic arts. He has organized film programs at an international slate of venues, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London), National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), Anthology Film Archives (New York), Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland), Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam), and Biennale de Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo). The announcement noted that the film program will be accessible to audiences around the world: “For the first time in Whitney Biennial history, audiences will be able to enjoy the Biennial film program anywhere at any time online, as well as during special screenings at the Museum.” The 2024 Whitney Biennial open March 20 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. (12/6) | More
Opportunities
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the legendary summer residency in Maine, is hiring a new co-director. In August, Sarah Workneh announced she was departing after 14 years, effective this month. Through the executive search firm Isaacson, Milller, Skowhegan is seeking her successor. According to the job description, the annual salary for the leadership role is $150,000-$180,000. | More
