Photographic Legacy: Journalism Professor Pays Tribute to Father’s Seminal Book ‘Songs of My People’
Installation view of “Songs of My People: 25 Years Later,” at George Washington University. | Photo courtesy Gallery 102 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, before social media existed and online news outlets were few, there were scant alternatives to combat negative portrayals in mainstream media. “The African American community was not being covered fairly in the...
Artist Henry Taylor is Lending His West Coast Perspective to New York’s High Line
LOS ANGELES ARTIST Henry Taylor is bringing California cool to the High Line next month with a massive mural. Debuting March 17, “the floaters” is a self-portrait featuring the sunglass-wearing artist leisurely lounging in an enchanting blue pool. Taylor is also featured in the Whitney Biennial, which opens the same day at the nearby...
For Netherlands-based Sam Middleton, Posthumous New York Exhibition is a Homecoming of Sorts
SAM MIDDLETON, “Jazz is Free As a Bird,” 1972 (mixed media oil and collage on board). | Courtesy GP Contemporary LAST FALL, LEAFING THROUGH the catalog for the Oct. 6, 2016, African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries, an abstract painting by Sam Middleton (1927-2015) stood out. Titled “Jazz Is Free As A...
February Exhibitions: Edgar Arceneaux, Lorna Simpson, Dread Scott, and Nina Chanel Abney’s First Solo Museum Show
A NUMBER OF EXHIBITION FIRSTS coincide with Black History Month this year. “Royal Flush,” Nina Chanel Abney’s first solo museum show opens Feb. 16 at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. In February, South African artist Nicholas Hlobo is presenting his first exhibition in Sweden. Major works by British artists Yinka Shonibare...
Hammer Museum Selects Erin Christovale to Co-Curate Made in L.A. 2018
Los Angeles-based independent curator Erin Christovale specializes in film programming. | Photo by Jamie Costa, Courtesy Hammer Museum EVERY OTHER YEAR, Los Angeles comes alive with coordinated exhibition programming showcasing the city’s most promising artists and innovative practices. Made in L.A. is the citywide biennial presented by the Hammer Museum. The fourth edition will...
Vilcek Prize Winner Nari Ward to Recreate ‘We the People’ Installation at New-York Historical Society on President’s Day
“We the People” at Barnes Foundation, 2016 SIX YEARS AGO, artist Nari Ward created a textile installation composed of nearly 1,000 shoe laces spelling out “We the People.” The work of art is particularly relevant today. The divisive political climate in the United States has awakened Americans anew to the values of democracy, importance...
Nasher Launches Website Previewing Nina Chanel Abney’s First-Ever Solo Museum Exhibition
EMERGING FROM HER SUCCESSFUL THESIS SHOW with the sole painting she presented selling to prominent Miami collectors, Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982) has never looked back since earning her MFA from Parsons in New York. The aforementioned painting, “Class of 2007,” helped her secure gallery representation and appeared in “30 Americans,” the traveling group...
2017 Venice Biennale List Includes African American Artists Sam Gilliam, Senga Nengudi, and McArthur Binion
Chicago-based McArthur Binion is among the artists invited to participate in the 57th Venice Biennial. HOW TIME FLIES. It certainly doesn’t seem like two years has elapsed since Nigerian-born Okwui Enwezor’s historic turn as artistic director of the 2015 Venice Biennale and “All the World’s Futures” featured more than 35 black artists, including Glenn...
For Monumental Commission at Hirshhorn Museum, Mark Bradford is Incorporating Figurative Imagery for First Time
An exterior view of the Hirshhorn Museum shows the cylindrical form of the building. | Courtesy Smithsonian Institution MORE THAN A YEAR AGO, in October 2015, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden announced Mark Bradford would be presenting his first-ever exhibition in Washington, D.C. The site-specific commission will utilize the entire expanse of the...
At Blanton Museum in Austin, Local Patrons ‘Crowdsource’ Historic Purchase
SONYA CLARK, “Madam C. J. Walker,” 2008 (combs). | Collection of Blanton Museum of Art THE BLANTON MUSEUM OF ART is reinstalling its permanent collection. When the second-floor gallery spaces reopen on Feb. 12, works by African American artists will be among the standout attractions. The collection exhibition features new acquisitions and holdings that...
Museums Mark MLK Day: Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr., Through the Lens of Art & Culture
LAST YEAR, ABOUT THIS TIME, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History (NMAAHC) announced it had acquired a rare bust of Martin Luther King Jr., by Charles Alston. The bronze sculpture, one of five, was gifted to the museum by Chicago-based collectors Eric and Cheryl McKissack. (One of the editions is on display...
Culture Talk: British Painter Hurvin Anderson on Personal and Political Histories
HURVIN ANDERSON, “Rootstock,” 2016 (acrylic and oil on canvas). | Courtesy Michael Werner Gallery MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, Hurvin Anderson was staying at a hotel in Montego Bay when he spotted some kids climbing a mango tree through the window. The image brought back vivid memories. The youngest of eight children, all of...
January Exhibitions: Resolve to See More Art This Year
IF JANUARY IS ANY INDICATION, 2017 will present plenty of opportunities to see new work, new ideas, and learn more about the practices of a range of artists of African descent. This selection of exhibitions opening this month, features some of the most productive artists in the art world, others whose well-established practices are...
Artist List for 2017 Whitney Museum Biennial Includes Henry Taylor, Lyle Ashton Harris, Pope.L, and Deana Lawson
Clockwise, from left, Deana Lawson, Pope.L, Lyle Ashton Harris, Maya Stovall, and Cauleen Smith (center). THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART announced 63 individual artists and collectives participating in the museum’s 2017 biennial. Largely informed by the contentious political climate and the socioeconomic issues dividing Americans, the exhibition will explore themes including “formation of...
Battleground States: Art is Winning in Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, Political Powerhouses Where Must-See Exhibitions are on View
THE FINAL DAYS OF THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION are playing out in a handful of states, battlegrounds with key electoral votes likely to determine the outcome of a hard fought, stranger-than-fiction race for the White House. There are 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 270 are needed to win. The campaigns of Hillary...
Election Fervor: For 40 Years, ‘Teenie’ Harris Photographed Pittsburgh’s African American Community, Including Major Political Moments
CHARLES “TEENIE” HARRIS, Linda Starkey handing bouquet to Shirley Chisholm, surrounded by Delta Sigma Theta sorority members, including Christine Jones Fulwiley on left, Vivian Mason Lane, and Marcia Davis, in Loendi Club, March 5, 1972 (black and white: Kodak Safety Film). | Carnegie Museum of Art, Heinz Family Fund FOR GENERATIONS, AFRICAN AMERICANS in...
At the Art Institute of Chicago, Kemang Wa Lehulere Mines South Africa’s History, Imagines Its Future
Kemang Wa Lehulere’s first American museum exhibition, “In My Wildest Dreams” at the Art Institute of Chicago, is on view through Jan. 16, 2017. | Video by Art Institute of Chicago LIKE COUNTLESS OTHER NATIONS, South Africa has an uneven history. Unlike its African neighbors, its recent past has garnered sustained international attention—from apartheid-era...
Kerry James Marshall Retrospective at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York Headlines Robust Fall Season of 50+ U.S. and European Exhibitions Featuring Black Artists
Kerry James Marshall’s retrospective, featuring “Untitled (Studio), opens at The Met Breuer Oct. 25. THE VISIONARY AND IMAGINATIVE PAINTINGS of Kerry James Marshall are coming to New York. Presenting 35 years of painting, “Mastry” is the largest retrospective of the artist’s work to date. After debuting at MCA Chicago in April, the exhibition opens...
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...
