‘David C. Driskell and Friends’ Presents Works by Some of the Most Significant Figures in Modern and Contemporary African American Art
DAVID C. DRISKELL, “Five Blue Notes,” 1980 (painting, 22.50 x 29.50 inches). | Gift of Nene Humphrey from the Benny Andrews and Nene Humphrey Collection, 2010.06.020. © David C. Driskell / David C. Driskell Center, 2017, Photography by Greg Staley, 2018 AN ARTIST, CURATOR, AND SCHOLAR, David C. Driskell (1931-2020) is a foundational figure...
Carolyn Mazloomi’s Quilt Designs Focus on Social Justice Issues, Her Forthcoming Exhibition at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem Presents New Works
CAROLYN MAZLOOMI, “Hands Up…Don’t Shoot #2,” 2024 (poly-cotton fabric, cotton thread, cotton batting, fabric paint, 58 x 102 inches / 147.32 x 259.08 cm). | © Carolyn Mazloomi, Courtesy the artist and Claire Oliver Gallery STORYTELLING, CRAFTSMANSHIP, and the often harsh realities of African American history co-exist in the work of Carolyn Mazloomi (b....
George Nelson Preston is Now Represented by Ryan Lee Gallery in New York, His Work is Rooted in the Memory and History of the Afro Atlantic World
George Nelson Preston, 2023. | Photo by Frank Stewart, Courtesy the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery New York RYAN LEE GALLERY in New York added George Nelson Preston (b. 1938) to its roster. Preston makes mixed-media, abstract paintings. In the representation announcement, the gallery described his work as “rooted in the memory and historical...
Allison Glenn Tapped as Artistic Director of the Shepherd, Multifaceted Community-Oriented Arts Campus in East Detroit
Allison Glenn. | Photo by Grace Roselli A NEW EXHIBITION opened this month in East Detroit. “In an effort to be held” at the Shepherd is presented by Library Street Collective and curated by Allison Glenn, a New York-based curator and writer. Featuring 26 artists, the group show focuses on experimentation with material and...
On View: ‘When You See Me: Visibility in Contemporary Art/History’ at Dallas Museum of Art Showcases Recent Acquisitions by Artists of Color, Women, and Queer Artists
DEBORAH ROBERTS, “When you see me,” 2019 (mixed media and collage on canvas). | Dallas Museum of Art, TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art Fund, 2020.20. © Deborah Roberts. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A GROUP OF SEVEN BOYS...
Arthur Jafa: ‘I Think Being Black in a White Supremacist Environment is Fascinating, Often Fun, Generally Harrowing’
ARTHUR JAFA, “Mickey Mouse was a Scorpio,” 2017 (chromogenic print mounted on aluminum, 52 × 83 inches / 132.1 × 210.8 cm). | Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gift of Marilyn and Larry Fields, 2023.61. Photo by Fredrik Nilsen A PROLIFERATION OF CELEBRATED Black contemporary artists focuses on figuration and portraiture and explores...
Bergan Burnett is New Chief Financial Officer at High Museum of Art in Atlanta
THE NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO) at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga., is Bergan Burnett. A longstanding Atlanta resident and member of the museum, Burnett has a record of leading financial and accounting operations at nonprofits. In the role of CFO of the High Museum, she is responsible for financial operations, planning,...
Summer Shows: 18 Museum Exhibitions Showcase Array of Black Artists, From Zanele Muholi, Frank Walter and Calida Rawles to Tyler Mitchell, Michael Thorpe & Arthur Jafa
SOME OF SUMMER’S MOST INTERESTING museum exhibitions are historic, presenting the first institutional solo shows of artists spanning generations. The selections include the first U.S. solo museum exhibitions of Frank Walter (1926–2009) at The Drawing Center in New York, Leilah Babirye at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and Calida Rawles at Pérez Art...
Kenvi Phillips Appointed Director of Barack Obama Presidential Library at the National Archives, HBCU Alum is Leading First Digital Presidential Library
OVER THE COURSE of her two-decade career, American historian Kenvi Phillips has achieved a number of firsts. Her latest is tied to the first Black President of the United States. Phillips is the inaugural director of the Barack Obama Presidential Library. She is charged with leading all library activities across planning, administration, and programming. Colleen...
TK Smith Joined Emory University’s Michael C. Carlos Museum as Curator, Arts of Africa and the African Diaspora, ‘He Uses Art as Portal for Understanding Our Histories’
EMORY UNIVERSITY in Atlanta, Ga., welcomed TK Smith as curator of the arts of Africa and the diaspora at the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Smith is a curator, writer, lecturer, and cultural historian who has been based in Atlanta and Philadelphia, Pa. His new appointment at the campus museum was announced Aug. 1. “TK is...
Latest News in Black Art: Stella Jean Designs Haiti’s Olympic Uniforms, Christelle Oyiri Selected for Tate Commission, Kennedy Center Honoring The Apollo & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Stella Jean designed the Haiti Olympic Team’s opening ceremony outfits. | Courtesy Stella Jean DESIGN Designer Stella Jean x 2024 Haiti Olympic Team Haitian Italian designer Stella Jean, whose eponymous label is based in Rome, Italy,...
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...
Venus Over Manhattan Now Represents Claude Lawrence, Jazz Trumpeter Added Abstract Painting to His Repertoire in 1980s
Portrait of Claude Lawrence with “Sundown Town” (2022), on view in his exhibition “Reflections on Porgy & Bess at Venus Over Manhattan,” 2024. | Courtesy the artist and Venus Over Manhattan, New York VENUS OVER MANHATTAN gallery in New York announced its representation Claude Lawrence (b. 1944), an abstract painter whose work is intrinsically...
Brothers Boscoe Holder and Geoffrey Holder Built Storied Careers in Dance and Performance With Painting Ever Present in Their Pursuit of the Arts
GEOFFREY HOLDER, “Swimmers II,” 1986 (colored pencil on paper, 91.4 x 116.8 cm / 36 x 46 inches). | © Geoffrey Holder, Courtesy the Geoffrey Holder Estate and James Fuentes TRUE RENAISSANCE MEN, brothers Boscoe Holder (1921-2007) and Geoffrey Holder (1930-2014) were active across multiple artistic disciplines, including dance, choreography, music, acting, and painting....
Picturing White House Leadership: For Four Years, Photographer Lawrence Jackson Has Trained His Lens on VP Kamala Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris walks onstage to speak at the kickoff for the Reproductive Freedoms Tour, Monday, January 22, 2024, at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 7 in Big Bend, Wisconsin. | Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson THE IMAGES ARE HISTORIC: Vice President Kamala Harris launching...
Paris 2024: Alison Saar’s Olympic Installation Offers Welcoming Place to Sit and Reflect in Garden of Champs-Elysées
“Salon” (2024), a bronze installation by Alison Saar, was inaugurated on June 23, 2024, in the public garden of the Champs-Elysées in Paris, France. | Photo by Fred Mauviel, Courtesy City of Paris THE PARIS OLYMPICS open next week and there is great anticipation and rampant speculation about how sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson will fare...
Audrey Hudson is Joining Philadelphia Museum of Art as Deputy Director of Learning and Engagement: ‘I Am Pumped By the Opportunity’
THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART (PMA) is welcoming Audrey Hudson as the Kathleen C. Sherrerd Deputy Director for Learning and Engagement, a leadership role at the museum. Hudson brings a range of experience across academia, art education, museum learning, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) practices. She is joining PMA from the Art Gallery...
Latest News in Black Art: San Francisco Gets Thomas J. Price Sculpture, Art by Charles Gaines and Nina Chanel Abney at JFK Airport, New CEO at Muhammad Ali Center
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture THOMAS PRICE, Installation view of “As Sounds Turn to Noise,” 2023 (bronze, 110 3/8 inches high x 47 1/2 inches wide x 32 3/4 inches deep). | Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Photo: San Francisco...
SCAD Museum of Art Named Andreia Wardlaw Director of Walter and Linda Evans Center for African American Studies
THE SCAD MUSEUM OF ART (SCAD MOA) at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) in Georgia appointed Andreia Wardlaw director of the Walter and Linda Evans Center for African American Studies. The July 10 announcement described Wardlaw as “an experienced leader and community builder who is passionate about education and the arts.” She...
On View: ‘Will Stovall: Kant Crisis’ at Ulrik Gallery in New York, Artist’s First-Ever Solo Exhibition is Inspired by German Philosophy
WILL STOVALL, “Circus,” 2022 (oil on canvas, walnut frame, 15 1/4 x 26 3/4 inches / 38.7 x 67.9 cm). | © Will Stovall, Courtesy the artist and Ulrik On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOR HIS FIRST-EVER solo exhibition, Will Stovall is presenting a series of intimately scaled paintings inspired by...
