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An essential resource focused on visual art from a Black perspective, Culture Type explores the intersection of art, history, and culture

Exhibitions
On View: See Images From 'Otis Kwame: (S)kin Deep,' Portland Art Museum Exhibition Features Recent Portraits

On View: See Images From ‘Otis Kwame: (S)kin Deep,’ Portland Art Museum Exhibition Features Recent Portraits

    On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   RECENT FIGURATIVE PAINTINGS and works on paper by Otis Quaicoe are on view at the Portland Art Museum, the artist’s adopted hometown museum. Born in Ghana, Quaicoe moved to Portland, Ore., in 2017, joining his new wife in the city where she lived and worked....
On View: See Images From 'Tyler Mitchell: Chrysalis' at Gagosian Gallery, Artist's First Solo Exhibition in London

On View: See Images From ‘Tyler Mitchell: Chrysalis’ at Gagosian Gallery, Artist’s First Solo Exhibition in London

    On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   FOR HIS FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION in London and his first solo show with Gagosian gallery, Tyler Mitchell is presenting a new series of transporting photographs of Black figures that blend the serene with the surreal. Made this year, the images were captured among the natural...
50+ Museum Exhibitions to See This Fall Feature Artists Henry Taylor, Fred Eversley, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Theaster Gates, Black Potters, Just Above Midtown Gallery & More

50+ Museum Exhibitions to See This Fall Feature Artists Henry Taylor, Fred Eversley, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Theaster Gates, Black Potters, Just Above Midtown Gallery & More

  AT A TIME WHEN NEW YORK CITY galleries and museums had little interest in African American artists, Linda Goode Bryant established Just Above Midtown, a gallery and community space that served as both sanctuary and experimental platform for artists of color. Half a century after its founding in 1974, Just Above Midtown is now...
12 Museum Exhibitions to See Now Feature Sam Gilliam, Billy Zangewa, Deana Lawson, Isaac Julien, Young Fashion Photographers, Memphis Metal Workers & More

12 Museum Exhibitions to See Now Feature Sam Gilliam, Billy Zangewa, Deana Lawson, Isaac Julien, Young Fashion Photographers, Memphis Metal Workers & More

  THEMED EXHIBITIONS exploring the Great Migration and showcasing works by metal workers in Memphis and young fashion photographers are among the noteworthy shows featuring Black artists that opened in museums this spring and summer. From Seattle to Cleveland, Atlanta, Boston, and London, many of these exhibitions remain open through September. Museums are presenting works...
London: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Present Works by Artists Deborah Roberts, Nengi Omuku, Sokari Douglas Camp, Gareth Nyandoro, Mostaff Muchawaya, and Kara Walker

London: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Present Works by Artists Deborah Roberts, Nengi Omuku, Sokari Douglas Camp, Gareth Nyandoro, Mostaff Muchawaya, and Kara Walker

  CURRENTLY ON VIEW in London, galleries are presenting solo exhibitions of American artists Deborah Roberts and Kara Walker; emerging Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku; and British Nigerian sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp. In addition, a two-artist show is presenting works by Gareth Nyandoro and Mostaff Muchawaya, who are both based in Harare, Zimbabwe. The exhibitions dedicated...
Culture Talk: Curator Kanitra Fletcher on Afro-Atlantic Histories: Exhibition is About 'How the African Diaspora Comprises All These Voices and Lives and Experiences'

Culture Talk: Curator Kanitra Fletcher on Afro-Atlantic Histories: Exhibition is About ‘How the African Diaspora Comprises All These Voices and Lives and Experiences’

  A VISUAL REVELATION, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” presents a sweeping account of the African Diaspora. The exhibition explores the “historical experiences and cultural formations” of Black people of African descent, across five centuries dating from the 17th century to the present. More than 130 works of art by artists from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the...
New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Explore Work of Artists Amanda Williams, Vivian Browne, Shikeith, Alberta Whittle, Alanis Forde, and Akilah Watts

New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Explore Work of Artists Amanda Williams, Vivian Browne, Shikeith, Alberta Whittle, Alanis Forde, and Akilah Watts

  IN NEW YORK CITY, five must-see exhibitions are dedicated to Amanda Williams, Vivian Browne, Shikeith, Alberta Whittle, Alanis Forde, and Akilah Watts. The artists work in a variety of mediums, most prominently painting. The group includes three artists who hail originally from Barbados; Shikeith and Whittle are presenting their first solo exhibitions in New...
Closing Soon: Must-See New York Gallery Exhibitions Showcase Works by Sylvia Snowden, Naudline Pierre, Walter Price, Wole Lagunju, and Ebony G. Patterson

Closing Soon: Must-See New York Gallery Exhibitions Showcase Works by Sylvia Snowden, Naudline Pierre, Walter Price, Wole Lagunju, and Ebony G. Patterson

  IN NEW YORK CITY, five must-see solo exhibitions are dedicated to artists whose practices are largely focused on painting: Sylvia Snowden, Naudline Pierre, Walter Price, Wole Lagunju, and Ebony G. Patterson. Expressing themselves through abstraction and figuration, the artists explore fantasy worlds, beauty, violence, religion, and “mental landscapes.” The gallery shows close this weekend:...
Ernie Barnes Iconic 'Sugar Shack' Painting on Loan to Houston Museum One Month After Record-Shattering Auction Sale

Ernie Barnes Iconic ‘Sugar Shack’ Painting on Loan to Houston Museum One Month After Record-Shattering Auction Sale

  THE VICTOR IN A FIERCE BIDDING WAR, art collector Bill Perkins paid a record-shattering $15.3 million for “The Sugar Shack” (1976) by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) at Christie’s New York on May 12. The iconic painting was estimated to sell for about $200,000, so the staggering price made international news and brought long overdue, widespread...
Closing Soon: Must-See New York Gallery Exhibitions Showcase Works by Lorraine O'Grady, Terry Adkins, Lauren Halsey, and Tavares Strachan

Closing Soon: Must-See New York Gallery Exhibitions Showcase Works by Lorraine O’Grady, Terry Adkins, Lauren Halsey, and Tavares Strachan

  IN NEW YORK CITY, four must-see solo exhibitions showcase works by artists with singular practices: Lorraine O’Grady, Terry Adkins, Tavares Strachan, and Lauren Halsey. Spanning three generations, the artists work across multiple mediums mining Black history, culture, and experience through conceptual lenses. The gallery shows close this weekend:   LORRAINE O’GRADY, “Gaze,” 1991/2019 (archival...
On View: See Images From 'Joy Yamusangie: Feeling Good,' Inspired by Expressive Nature of Jazz, Exhibition Explores Identity and Social Constructs at NOW Gallery in London

On View: See Images From ‘Joy Yamusangie: Feeling Good,’ Inspired by Expressive Nature of Jazz, Exhibition Explores Identity and Social Constructs at NOW Gallery in London

  On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THE RECIPIENT OF NOW Gallery’s 2022 Young Artist Commission, Joy Yamusangie is staging an immersive solo show, envisioning the London gallery as a jazz club. Following collaborations with Gucci, Paul Smith, Penguin Books, and Nike, the Congolese-British artist sought to realize their own singular vision. Yamusangie’s...
Seeing in Texas: From Dallas to Houston and San Antonio, Museums are Showcasing a Spectrum of African American Art

Seeing in Texas: From Dallas to Houston and San Antonio, Museums are Showcasing a Spectrum of African American Art

Detail of “Lonnie Holley: Coming From the Earth” at Dallas Contemporary   FOR HIS FIRST EXHIBITION IN TEXAS, Lonnie Holley, 72, is presenting a new series of ceramic works at Dallas Contemporary. The Alabama artist’s creativity is informed by struggle and hardship and draws on his curiosity. Holley works in a variety of mediums but...
Simone Leigh Opens Much-Anticipated, Historic Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Becomes First Black Female Artist to Present Solo Show in U.S. Pavilion

Simone Leigh Opens Much-Anticipated, Historic Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Becomes First Black Female Artist to Present Solo Show in U.S. Pavilion

Venice Biennale: “Simone Leigh: Sovereignty,” U.S. Pavilion, 2022   A TOWERING SCULPTURE pays homage to the ritual performances of the Baga peoples of the Guinea coast. Face jugs made by enslaved and free African Americans in the Edgefield District of South Carolina inspired a five-foot-tall vessel embellished with outsized forms that read as cowrie shells....
On View: See Images of Akinsanya Kambon's Pan-African Inspired Ceramic Sculptures at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City

On View: See Images of Akinsanya Kambon’s Pan-African Inspired Ceramic Sculptures at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City

Ceramic works by Akinsanya Kambon at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   MAKING HIS SOLO DEBUT in New York City, Akinsanya Kambon is presenting figurative sculptures and wall reliefs at Jack Shainman Gallery. The ceramic works were made using an American raku firing technique, creating...
'Black American Portraits' Showcases 140 Artworks, Two Centuries of Representation Across Geographies and Diverse Practices

‘Black American Portraits’ Showcases 140 Artworks, Two Centuries of Representation Across Geographies and Diverse Practices

Installation view of “Black American Portraits,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art   THE OBAMA PORTRAITS were such a hit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the museum launched a multi-city tour to give people throughout the country a chance to see the historic paintings. Kehinde Wiley‘s portrait of President Barack Obama...
On View: See Images From 'Hew Locke: The Procession,' New Tate Britain Commission in London is Parade Through Time, Geography, and Cultures

On View: See Images From ‘Hew Locke: The Procession,’ New Tate Britain Commission in London is Parade Through Time, Geography, and Cultures

  On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   A NEW LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATION by Hew Locke, “The Procession” features nearly 150 life-sized figures outfitted in hand-made garments and masks. The latest Tate Britain Commission is a sculptural gumbo evoking celebration, sorrow, and world events across time—from slavery to climate change, the Black Lives Matter Movement,...
On View: See Images From 'David Driskell: Mystery of the Masks,' Exhibition Explores Recurring Symbol in Artist's Practice at DC Moore Gallery in New York

On View: See Images From ‘David Driskell: Mystery of the Masks,’ Exhibition Explores Recurring Symbol in Artist’s Practice at DC Moore Gallery in New York

  On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   A RENOWNED SCHOLAR of African American art, David Driskell (1931-2020) had a deep interest in African Art, which he was introduced to when he was a student at Howard University. More than a dozen years later, in 1969-70 and 1972, when he was a professor of...
On View: See Images From 'Prints from the Brandywine Workshop and Archives: Creative Communities' Exhibition at Harvard Art Museums

On View: See Images From ‘Prints from the Brandywine Workshop and Archives: Creative Communities’ Exhibition at Harvard Art Museums

Installation view of “Prints from the Brandywine Workshop and Archives: Creative Communities” at Harvard Art Museums   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THROUGH COLLABORATION AND EXPERIMENTATION, master printers and a diverse slate of artists have been producing new works at Brandywine Workshop and Archives for half a century. The Philadelphia organization was...
On View: See Images From 'A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking,' Group Exhibition of Women Artists at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York

On View: See Images From ‘A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking,’ Group Exhibition of Women Artists at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York

“Octoroon (Constance)” (2021) by Ann Johnson   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   A SPECTRUM OF METHODS, techniques, and narratives employed and explored by Black women printmakers is on view at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York. “A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking” showcases 21 works by nine contemporary printmakers: Tanekeya Word,...
On View: See Images From 'Black Dolls,' Exhibition at New-York Historical Society Presents Unique View of Race, Representation, and Play

On View: See Images From ‘Black Dolls,’ Exhibition at New-York Historical Society Presents Unique View of Race, Representation, and Play

  On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   AFTER HER BRAVE AND HARROWING ESCAPE from enslavement, Harriet Jacobs was employed in New York by Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806-1867), a white, well-paid writer and magazine editor who worked with Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Jacobs, who titled her 1861 autobiography “Incidents in the...