Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – London Fairs, African and African American Art at Auction
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. This week, highlights include news from Frieze London and the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair; sales of African and African American art at auctions in New York,...
Off the Beaten Path: From Cleveland to Durham, N.C., 19 Must-See Exhibitions Featuring African American Artists
Kara Walker’s work is on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art; A massive Nick Cave installation open at MASS MoCA Oct. 15. BEYOND NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, AND CHICAGO, there are major U.S. museums and innovative art institutions presenting the work of world-renowned artists. The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is one of...
We the People: This Election Season, Art and the Politics of Social Justice are on View
THIS FALL, NEW EXHIBITIONS featuring work by and about black people are opening in a political season like no other. Social justice issues are at the fore and change is afoot as the presidential election nears. The climate is reflected in the subjects African American artists are addressing in their work and is also paralleled...
Beyond the Fairs: London’s Must-See Exhibitions Featuring Black Artists
Embed from Getty Images LONDON IS THE PLACE TO BE this week with the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair and Frieze London underway. The fourth edition of 1:54 is open Oct. 6-9 at Somerset House. According to the fair, 40 exhibitors are presenting more than 130 African and African diasporan artists, alongside a program...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Camille Ann Brewer Joins GWU Textile Museum, Rosa Parks House Considered Art
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. This week, highlights include the announcement that the Detroit home of Rosa Parks will be repurposed as art; plans for a new museum in Nigeria and assessments...
Where My Girls At?: 28+ Opportunities to See and Support the Work of Black Female Artists and Curators This Fall
Works by Alma Thomas, Simone Leigh, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye IT WAS A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM, a celebration of two important women in art—Alma Thomas (1891-1978) and Thelma Golden. The artist and the director of the Studio Museum in Harlem were both born Sept. 22. Thomas would have been 125. To mark the milestone,...
Culture Talk: New Orleans Gallery Owner Stella Jones on 20 Years in the Art Business
Gallery owner Stella Jones with “Haiti Demain,” 1987 (mixed-media collage on canvas) by Lois Mailou Jones. | Photo by Victoria L. Valentine NEW ORLEANS — FOR TWO DECADES, the Central Business District in New Orleans has been home to Stella Jones Gallery. It’s the namesake of a physician, who turned her passion for collecting...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – President Obama Opens New Smithsonian African American Museum
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include the long-awaited opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; the announcement of the MacArthur Foundation’s 2016 fellows, including Kellie Jones and Joyce J. Scott; a new...
President Obama Dedicates New Smithsonian African American Museum, Quotes Langston Hughes Declaring ‘I, Too, Am America’
Embed from Getty Images For while the tale of how we suffer and how we are delighted and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard – President Obama, quoting James Baldwin RINGING A HISTORIC CHURCH BELL, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama officially marked the opening...
MacArthur Foundation Announces 2016 Fellows, Including Scholar-Curator Kellie Jones and Artist Joyce J. Scott
From left, 2016 MacArthur Foundation Fellows Joyce J. Scott and Kellie Jones. | Courtesy Mac Foundation EVERY FALL, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation selects a new class of MacArthur Fellows, among the most creative and innovative people in the arts, science, and beyond. This year’s winners include art historian and curator...
Gifted: Photographer Jaimie Milner Pays Tribute to Beauty, Ingenuity of Black Men
Jaimie Milner and some of the men she has photographed discuss the Gifted project. FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, Jaimie Milner has been photographing black men. She describes the process as an exploration of the “beauty and ingenuity of black men today.” Milner has made portraits of more than 50 so far, from all...
With the Smithsonian African American Museum Set to Open in Washington, the Entire City is Brimming with Black Art
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is exhibiting works from its collection by African American artists including WILLIAM H. JOHNSON. WITH THE GRAND OPENING of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) less than a week away, anticipation is palpable. Visitor passes for the opening weekend disappeared shortly after their release...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Hamza Walker to Head LAXART, National Medal of Arts Announced
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent, with a few nods to culture thrown in. This week, highlights include news that President Obama created a national monument, will honor artists Jack Whitten and Ralph Lemon with the National Medal of Arts, and...
Stanley Nelson Directs Premiere Episode of ART21 Featuring Chicago Artists Nick Cave and Theaster Gates
Embed from Getty Images CHICAGO HAS A VIBRANT ART SCENE, which surprised director Stanley Nelson. The Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker known for telling stories about the Freedom Riders, Emmett Till, Wounded Knee, Jonestown, Oak Bluffs, the Black Press, and most recently, the Black Panthers, has trained his lens on Chicago artists. Nelson is directing...
Lorna Simpson Goes to Washington, Gives Inaugural Photography Lecture at National Gallery of Art
LORNA SIMPSON, “Untitled (Two Necklines),” 1989 WASHINGTON, D.C. — TWO DAYS AFTER her new exhibition of paintings opened at Salon 94 in New York, Lorna Simpson gave a talk at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She offered a visual journey of her practice over the past three decades, sharing the concepts...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Fall Exhibitions Open in New York, Los Angeles
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include news that Elizabeth Catlett‘s alma mater is attempting make amends for a decades-old discriminatory housing policy. David Adjaye and Chris Ofili may be lighting London’s historic bridges. Steve McQueen won the...
At Smithsonian, Carl Van Vechten’s Photographs Document Familiar Faces, Key Figures From Harlem’s Heydays
Artist Jacob Lawrence, photo by CARL VAN VECHTEN SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING PORTRAITS of Harlem’s 20th century figures were captured by Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964). A writer and photographer, Van Vechten socialized with the greats of African American arts and letters, including Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. A white patron of the...
Culture Talk: Curator Lauren Haynes on Bringing the Colorful, Abstract Paintings of Alma Thomas to Harlem’s Studio Museum
ALMA THOMAS, “Snoopy Sees Earth Wrapped in Sunset,” 1970 (acrylic on canvas). | Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist; Courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem AT A TIME WHEN MOST ARTISTS are in the sunset of their careers, Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was on the rise. Recognized for her expressive abstract paintings, her exuberant use...
In First Date Movie ‘Southside With You,’ Paintings by Ernie Barnes Fuel Connection Between Barack and Michelle Obama
A VISIT TO A MUSEUM, helped Barack Obama win Michelle Robinson’s heart. “Southside With You,” a new film about the first couple’s first date, includes a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. There they view an exhibition that features paintings by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009), representational works reflecting the African American experience with lithe...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include news that black women artists gathered in New York in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Also motivated by the movement, a group of black creative directors launched an initiative...
