In January, artist and gallery founder Alonzo Davis died, Made in L.A. artists and USA Fellows were announced, Christina Kimeze and Mario Joyce joined new galleries, The Africa Center welcomed a new leader, the discovery of a rare William H. Dorsey painting was reported, and more
MARIO JOYCE, “Fragmented Memory,” 2024 (soil, vintage collage, oil paint, acrylic paint, pastel on canvas, 36 x 48 inches). | Photo by Brica Wilcox
REPRESENTATION | Jan. 2: Vielmetter Los Angeles added Los Angeles-based painter Mario Joyce (b. 1985) to the gallery’s roster. A blend of figuration and abstraction, “Joyce’s work is rooted in his genealogical research of his family, going back to the 1600s. Incorporating imagery, memories, and stories from his familial research, Joyce incorporates vintage collage materials and soil from the farm he grew up on into his sumptuously textured paintings, weaving together a rich tapestry of his origins. A self-taught artist, Joyce mines his ancestral lineage as well as his personal experience growing up in rural Ohio as a Queer Black man.” A solo exhibition of the artist, “Mario Joyce: Spirit, Spirit,” was on view at the gallery through Jan. 25. | More
PUBLIC ART | Jan. 3: In 2023, “The Air Up There” by Chicago artist Nick Cave was installed at the Kansas City International Airport. The work is a constellation of about 2,800 colorful spinners that was suspended from the ceiling of the new terminal where passengers check-in for their flights. In October, after a piece of one of the spinners fell to the floor, the installation was removed and may be decommissioned. No one was hurt, but city officials wanted to inspect the project to ensure it was safe. The eight-page Art Structural Evaluation Report provided by an engineering firm concluded that if the work was reinstalled without modifications, additional spinners would fall over time. Now the Municipal Art Commission must decide whether to remedy the problem or decommission the work, which cost $1 million. | Kansas City Star via Yahoo News
A report from the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia details how Andy Robbins discovered a rare 1864 painting by William H. Dorsey in a church thrift store. | Video by 6ABC
NEWS | Jan. 7: Andy Robbins spotted an oval framed watercolor of a Black fisherman during one of his regular visits to New Life Thrift, a Glenside, Pa., thrift shop run by New Life Presbyterian Church. Turns out, the 1864 work is believed to be the only known extant painting by William H. Dorsey (1837-1923), who hailed from a prominent Philadelphia family and was better known as a collector, scrapbooker, and co-founder of the American Negro Historical Society. Robbins paid $10 for the painting in the summer of 2023. Realizing the significance of the work, he donated it to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. | WHYY
AWARDS & HONORS | Jan. 7: “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” the semi-autobiographic film written and directed by artist Titus Kaphar received six NAACP Image Award nominations for outstanding writing, cinematography, lead actor (Andre Holland), supporting actress, independent motion picture, and creative breakthrough. On Feb. 22, the NAACP Image Awards air live on BET. (The film also received nine Black Reel Award nominations. These awards will be presented Feb. 10.) | More
Christina Kimeze in her studio, 2024. | Photo by Lily Bertrand-Webb, Courtesy Hauser & Wirth
REPRESENTATION | Jan. 8: London-based painter Christina Kimeze (b. 1986) joined Hauser & Wirth. Her inaugural solo show opens this summer at the gallery’s West Hollywood location in Los Angeles, Calif. The announcement described some of Kimeze’s inspirations: “Richly colored foliage that reappears often in her work summons glimpses of her father’s home country of Uganda. The artist also mines such sources as 20th-century feminist and contemporary writers and films. More recently, Kimeze has shifted her focus to the subject of movement, flight and freedom, referencing the resurgence of roller skating in Black communities in London and the US and exploring folkloric accounts of mystical women.” The unique materials she employs were also noted: “Tactility is an essential element of Kimeze’s practice; freedom is expressed not only through subject matter but also her experimentation with surface texture and material effect. Working on napped suede or velvet canvases, Kimeze combines dry chalks, oil pastel and wet paints, applying, crushing and merging them into the fabric. This technique imbues her works with a sense of the temporal—of time passing, of transience and indeterminacy.” Currently on view at South London Gallery, “Christina Kimeze: Between Wood and Wheel” is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the UK (Jan. 31-May 11, 2025). | More
“Richly colored foliage that reappears often in [Christina Kimeze’s] work summons glimpses of her father’s home country of Uganda. The artist also mines such sources as 20th-century feminist and contemporary writers and films.”
APPOINTMENTS | Jan. 9: Alisa Chiles (left) joined the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Va., as the Sydney and Francis Lewis Curator of Decorative Arts, 1890 to the Present. Chiles previously served as assistant curator of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. An expert in Art Nouveau and Art Deco, she holds a Ph.D., in art history from the University of Pennsylvania. Chiles started at VMFA on Jan. 10. Photo by Sandra Sellers © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts | Culture Type
APPOINTMENTS | Jan. 10: Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, N.Y., announced seven new trustees, all women, including Kimberly Taylor. A international real estate specialist with The Corcoran Group, Taylor is based on the East End of Long Island. | More
NEWS | Jan. 18: In Washington, D.C., the Peace Ball held inauguration weekend since 2009 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), was moved this year to Arena Stage on the Southwest Waterfront. Hosted by Andy Shallal, founder of the Busboys and Poets restaurant/bookstore chain, the event was first held after the election of President Barack Obama and in 2017 became a “protest” ball to counter the first inauguration of Donald Trump. Shallal said plans were already underway for the event to take place at NMAAHC again this year, before the venue change. A museum spokesperson said it was unable to host the ball because the Smithsonian does not allow use of its facilities for “events organized by for-profit promoters and advertised to the general public.” Angela Davis, Alice Walker, Sonia Sanchez, Ibram X. Kendi, several Democratic members of Congress, and Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now!,” were among the speakers and boldface names in attendance. | New York Times
APPOINTMENTS | Jan. 22: Solomon Salim Moore (right) was named academic curator at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. Moore officially started in the new role when the spring semester began on Jan. 20. Working closely with faculty, he will manage academic programs, facilitate class visits from Pomona College and the Claremont Colleges consortium, and direct the internship program. The new position is a promotion. Since 2020, Moore had served as assistant curator of collections. Before joining the Benton Museum of Art, he was a curatorial assistant in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photo: Travis Khachatoorian, Courtesy Benton Museum of Art | More
AWARDS & HONORS | Jan. 23: Directed by artist and photographer RaMell Ross, “Nickel Boys” was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead. The film received twoAcademy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Based on a the history of a real reform school in Florida, the story centers around the transformative friendship between two boys at the abusive institution. The film has received dozens more nominations, including Golden Globe, Directors Guild, Writers Guild, BAFTA, Black Reel Awards (10), and NAACP Image Awards (6). Wins so far include 2024 Best Picture and Best Cinematography awards from the National Society of Film Critics and 2025 Best Picture and Best Director recognition from the African American Film Critics Association. This year’s Oscars will be televised on March 2. | More
NEWS | Jan. 24: In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art announced it was ending its diversity, equity and inclusion programs in response to an executive order issued by the Trump Administration. Four days later, the Smithsonian Institution announced the closure of its diversity office in an effort to comply with the order. Both organizations receive a portion of their funding from the federal government. | New York Times here and here
APPOINTMENTS | Jan. 27: The Africa Center in New York, announced the appointment of Martin Kimani (left) as president and CEO, effective Jan. 21. The center is a nexus for understanding and engaging contemporary Africa across art, culture, commerce, and policy. Kimani joined The Africa Center from New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, where he had served as executive director since June 2024, and remains a distinguished fellow. Previously, Kimani was permanent representative of Kenya to the United Nations (2021-24). Photo by Rashawn Austin for The Africa Center | New York Times
FILMS | Jan. 27: Directed by artist and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph, “Blknws: Terms & Conditions” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival after initially being withdrawn from the event. Participant Media, which is no longer in operation, financed the film and pulled it from the festival claiming the filmmaker submitted a revised cut of the movie. Joseph expressed “surprise and confusion” over the action. Days later, James Shani’s Rich Spirit and BN Media purchased the rights from Participant and acquired the film. “Blknws: Terms & Conditions” returned to the festival schedule and has received high praise and positive reviews. | Variety
“My art choices and world views have been inspired by travel. Through travel, I seek influences, cultural centers, energies, new terrain and the power of both the spoken and unspoken.” — Alonzo Davis, Artist Statement
Alonzo Davis (1942-2025). | Courtesy Alonzo Davis Studio
LIVES | Jan. 27: Artist, educator, and gallery owner Alonzo Davis (1942-2025) has died. He was 82. Parrasch heijnen, the Los Angeles gallery that represented the artist, announced his death. Davis was a central figure in the LA art scene that developed in the 1960s. He co-founded Brockman Gallery with his brother Dale Brockman in a Leimert Park storefront in 1967. The storied gallery was a critical hub and platform for Black artists and artists of color, at a time when they were generally shut out of white-owned galleries. An array of artists exhibited at Brockman, including Judith Baca, Elizabeth Catlett, David Hammons, Suzanne Jackson, Kerry James Marshall, Senga Nengudi, John Outterbridge, Noah Purifoy, John T. Riddle, and Betye Saar, among many others. Born in Tuskegee, Ala., Davis moved to LA in his teens, and was based in Hyattsville, Md., over the past two decades. He received a BA degree from Pepperdine University (1964) and earned his BFA (1971) and MFA (1973) from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. In his 60-year artistic practice, Davis worked across painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, and murals. He participated in many exhibitions over the decades. In more recent years, he was featured in the landmark, traveling museum exhibition “Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles, 1960–1980” (2011-13) and “Alonzo Davis: The Blanket Series” (2022-23), a solo exhibition of the artist was on view at parrasch heijnen in Los Angeles. | More
BIENNIALS | Jan. 28: The Hammer Museum at UCLA announced 27 artists and collectives selected for the next edition of Made in L.A., the museum’s biennial exhibition showcasing artists in the Los Angeles region. Participating artists include Black House Radio / Michael Donte, Greg Breda, Widline Cadet, Jerald “Coop” Cooper (@hoodmidcenturymodern), Patrick Martinez, Will Rawls, Amanda Ross-Ho, Alake Shilling, and Leilah Weinraub. The exhibition is curated by Essence Harden and Paulina Pobocha. In a joint statement the curators said: “While there are as many ideas circulating through the show as there are materials, an inquiry into one’s relationship to the city of Los Angeles animates much of the work we will present. Neither myth nor monolith, this city is many things to many people, and its cacophonous disorder is, perhaps, its most distinguishing feature.” Made in L.A. will be on view from Oct. 5, 2025-Jan. 4, 2026. | More
“Los Angeles is still grappling with the terrible fires of the last few weeks but, as we look ahead to the fall, I hope this biennial can demonstrate the resilience of artists and this city.” — Hammer Museum Director Zoë Ryan
Vincent van Velsen. | Photo: Lonneke van der Palen
APPOINTMENTS | Jan. 28: Vincent van Velsen is the new head of exhibitions at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He started Feb. 1. A curator, writer, and editor, van Velsen joined Eye Filmmuseum from Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, where he was curator of contemporary art and photography since 2021. | ArtDaily
AWARDS & HONORS | Jan. 30: United States Artists announced its 2025 USA Fellows, 50 artists, hailing from 21 states, working in a variety of disciplines. Each received unrestricted grants of $50,000. The recipients included Ephraim Asili, David Harper Clemons, Kahlil Robert Irving, Caroline Kent, Christopher Harris, Rashaad Newsome, Karyn Olivier, Sherrill Roland, and Anna Martine Whitehead. | More
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AWARDS & HONORS | The French Ministry of Culture awarded artist Julie Mehretu the rank of Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.
MAGAZINES | Asad Syrkett, former editor in chief of Elle Decor (2020-24): “This week, I moved to Milan. I’m excited to be the guest editor of @ad_italia for the next three months.”
