Latest News in Black Art: New University Museum Directors, Infiniti Award for Photog Renell Medrano, Arvie Smith Among Guggenheim Fellows, Honoring Hank Aaron
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Cécile Fromont | Courtesy Harvard HAA APPOINTMENTS First Faculty Director at Harvard’s Cooper Gallery Cécile Fromont (above) is joining Harvard University as a new professor in the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the...
Faith Ringgold, the Great American Artist Known for Her Political Paintings and Story Quilts, Has Died at 93
FAITH RINGGOLD, “Black Light Series #11: US America Black,” 1969 (oil on canvas, 60 x 84 inches). | © 2024 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York ONE OF THE GIANTS has passed on. Faith Ringgold, (1930-2024), the extraordinary artist who made political paintings with an unvarnished...
Latest News in Black Art: Raymond Saunders Joined David Zwirner, Southern Guild Hired New LA Directors, Ibrahim Mahama and Dalton Paula Win Artist Awards & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture RAYMOND SAUNDERS, Untitled, 1990 (mixed media on wood, triptych; Each: 96 x 48 inches / 243.8 x 121.9 cm; Overall: 96 x 144 inches / 243.8 x 365.8 cm). | © Raymond Saunders. Courtesy the artist, Andrew...
Coming Soon: SFMOMA Will Present Largest-Ever Exhibition of Amy Sherald, Artist Known for Poetic Portraits
AMY SHERALD, “For love, and for country,” 2022 (oil on linen, 313 x 236.5 x 6.4 cm / 123 1/4 x 93 1/8 x 2 1/2 inches). | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; © Amy Sherald; photo: Joseph Hyde, courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth THE FIRST MID-CAREER SURVEY of Amy Sherald...
Richard Mayhew at 100: Artistic Community Pays Tribute to ‘One of America’s Most Important Landscape Painters’
Richard Mayhew was born April 3, 1924 in Amityville, N.Y. The artist is shown in his studio in Soquel, Calif. | Courtesy Venus Over Manhattan, New York, N.Y. UPDATE (09/27/24): Richard Mayhew died on Sept. 26, 2024. His passing was confirmed by his representatives, ACA Galleries and Venus Over Manhattan, and reported by ARTnews...
Marian Anderson’s Famed Concert on the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial Occurred Easter Sunday in 1939, Several Artists Have Captured the Historic Moment
ROBERT S. SCURLOCK, Marian Anderson’s Easter concert at the Lincoln Memorial, April 9, 1939 (negative). | Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution FROM THE STEPS of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Marian Anderson (1897-1993) gave a memorable concert on April 9, 1939. The contralto singer opened with...
Latest News in Black Art: Ingrid Pollard Wins Hasselblad Photography Award, New Gallery Representation for Alberta Wittle, Coco Fusco, and Julien Creuzet & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Ingrid Pollard reflects on her work and winning the 2024 Hasselblad Award. When she was first contacted about the honor, Pollard assumed it was a scam. After realizing she indeed was the recipient, she thought about being...
Mati Diop Won Top Prize at Berlin International Film Festival for Documentary About Return of Looted Art to Benin
Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop won the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival top prize for the documentary “Dahomey,” which she wrote, directed, and co-produced. | Photo courtesy Berlin Film Festivals Mati Diop is the first Black filmmaker to win the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival IN 2021, FRANCE RETURNED 26 artworks...
Lauren Haynes Named Head Curator of Governors Island in New York, She is Expected to Grow the Public Art Program
Governors Island: The Exchange (aerial view), showing the iconic forms designed to evoke the dramatic landscapes and hills of the island with the skyscrapers that define Manhattan’s skyline in the background. | © SOM | Miysis via Governors Island GOVERNORS ISLAND offers a quick escape from the city streets to a park-like environment with...
Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village: Career-Spanning Exhibition Explores Artist’s Biography, Practice, and Creative Community He Nurtured
Installation view of “Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village” (2023-24), Torggler Fine Arts Center, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Va. | Courtesy the Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center, Photography by Echard Wheeler THE FIRST RETROSPECTIVE of artist, curator, and educator Benjamin Wigfall (1930-2017) is a tour de force shedding light on an important artist...
Hidden Gems: U.S. Museums are Showcasing 5 Significant, Yet Under-Known Artists Whose Practices Warrant Broader Attention
THE LYMAN ALLYN ART MUSEUM is adjacent to Connecticut College in New London, Conn. Barkley L. Hendricks taught at the school for nearly four decades and last year the museum presented a survey of the late artist who is highly regarded for his striking portraits. This year, Lyman Allyn is showing works by Norma Morgan,...
Looking Ahead: Jennie C. Jones is Taking on Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Rooftop Garden Commission in 2025
THE ROOF GARDEN of The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers majestic, panoramic views of the New York City skyline. Each year, the museum selects an artist to create a rooftop installation that highlights their practice, engages with The Met collection, and responds to the picturesque outdoor space. The project provides the encyclopedic museum with a...
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Newly Created Position, Appoints Dalila Scruggs Inaugural Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art
THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM (SAAM) announced the appointment of Dalila Scruggs to a newly created role on its curatorial team. Scruggs is joining the Washington, D.C., museum as the inaugural Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art. Currently, she is curator for photography and prints at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for...
2024 Tate Britain Commission Goes to Artist Alvaro Barrington: ‘My Mind Has Been Spinning Since I First Got Invited to Do It’
TATE BRITAIN selected Alvaro Barrington (b.1983) for the next Tate Britain Commission. The annual commission is a site-specific work presented in the grand neo-classical Duveen Galleries of the London museum. Exploring themes of “place and belonging,” Barrington’s installation opens May 26. “We are thrilled that Alvaro Barrington is taking on this year’s Tate Britain Commission....
Latest News in Black Art: Kelly Sinnapah Mary Joins James Cohan, Gary Tyler Wins Frieze LA Impact Prize, Harlem Landscape Designer Working with Dia Beacon & More
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture KELLY SINNAPAH MARY, Installation view of “Notebook of No Return: Memories (Mama),” 2022 (triptych, acrylic on canvas, 99 x 77.5 inches each, three total), “everything slackens in a wreck.” Shown, Ford Foundation Gallery, New York, N.Y. (2022)....
Cauleen Smith is Shining a Light on the Powerful Poetry of Wanda Coleman and the Contours of Los Angeles that Inspired Her
CAULEEN SMITH, Still from “The Wanda Coleman Songbook,” 2024. The installation is accompanied by limited-edition soundtrack with contributions by Kelsey Lu, Shala Miller, moor mother and Aquiles Navarro, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jeff Parker and Ruby Parker, Alice Smith, and Jamila Woods and Standing on the Corner. | © Cauleen Smith. Courtesy the artist and 52 Walker,...
2024 David C. Driskell Prize Goes to Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of Guggenheim Museum: ‘I Am Equal Parts Elated and Humbled’
THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART announced Naomi Beckwith is the recipient of the 2024 David C. Driskell Prize. The $50,000 prize is awarded annually to an artist, curator, or scholar in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of African American art. Beckwith is the deputy director and Jennifer and David Stockman chief curator of...
Historic Appointment: Robert C. Davidson Jr., is New Chair of Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Board of Commissioners
THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM (SAAM) in Washington, D.C., has a new board chair. Robert “Bob” C. Davidson Jr., was appointed chair of SAAM’s Board of Commissioners, effective Jan. 1, 2024. The news was announced Feb. 15. He was appointed by his fellow commissioners to a four-year term. Davidson is the retired chairman, CEO, and...
Jack Shainman Gallery Adds Charisse Pearlina Weston to Roster of Artists Engaged in Social and Cultural Issues
Charisse Pearlina Weston. | Courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery CONCEPTUAL ARTIST Charisse Pearlina Weston is now represented by Jack Shainman. The New York gallery has an international roster of nearly 40 artists recognized for exploring social and cultural issues in their work, including Nina Chanel Abney, El Anatsui, Nick Cave, Kerry James Marshall, Meleko Mokgosi,...
Painter Sam Gilliam Remained Highly Productive in His Last Five Years, ‘He Was Talking About Freedom, Expression, and Commitment to Abstract Art’
Installation view of “Sam Gilliam: The Last Five Years” at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibition features a symphony of drape paintings made by the artist in 2018. | Courtesy David Kordansky Gallery IN LOS ANGELES, a symphony of color-soaked canvases are suspended from the ceiling of the South Gallery at David...
