Welcome to Culture Type®

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

Latest News in Black Art: Artist Lorraine O'Grady Has Died, Zoe Whitley is Departing Chisenhale Gallery, Family Seeks Return of Paintings From Louisiana Museums & More

Latest News in Black Art: Artist Lorraine O’Grady Has Died, Zoe Whitley is Departing Chisenhale Gallery, Family Seeks Return of Paintings From Louisiana Museums & More

Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   Lorraine O’Grady. | Photo by Lelanie Foster, Courtesy the artist and Mariane Ibrahim gallery   LIVES Conceptual Artist Lorraine O’Grady Has Died at 90 New York artist Lorraine O’Grady (1934-2024) died at...
Nikki Giovanni, 81, Profound Poet Whose Poignant Verse Reflected the Evolving Times in Which She Lived, Has Died

Nikki Giovanni, 81, Profound Poet Whose Poignant Verse Reflected the Evolving Times in Which She Lived, Has Died

Nikki Giovanni. | Photo © Nikki Giovanni   A PROFOUND VOICE and insightful wordsmith has passed on. Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024), the American poet, professor, public intellectual, and key figure in the Black Arts Movement, died in Blacksburg, Va., on Nov. 9. She was 81 years old. Virginia C. Fowler, Giovanni’s...
Recently Published
Ed Cross Fine Art Now Represents Nigerian Artist Abdulrazaq Awofeso Who Creates Sculpture From Discarded Wood Palettes

Ed Cross Fine Art Now Represents Nigerian Artist Abdulrazaq Awofeso Who Creates Sculpture From Discarded Wood Palettes

Artist Abdulrazaq Awofeso. | Photo by Tegen Kimbley   AFTER ESTABLISHING a unique practice that reflects his own biography and also speaks to global issues, Abdulrazaq Awofeso is working with a new gallery. Ed Cross Fine Art in London recently announced its representation of the sculptor and installation artist. Working with discarded and dismantled wood...
Appointment: Courtney Willis Blair Will Lead White Cube Gallery in New York

Appointment: Courtney Willis Blair Will Lead White Cube Gallery in New York

  IT’S NEARLY UNHEARD OF for a white-owned art gallery to offer a stake in the business to a Black dealer. Courtney Willis Blair was in rare company in January 2021 when she was named partner and senior director at Mitchell-Innes & Nash in New York. Willis Blair is continuing to break new ground in...
As We Rise: Photography Publication and Coinciding Traveling Exhibition Explore Black Life on Both Sides of Atlantic

As We Rise: Photography Publication and Coinciding Traveling Exhibition Explore Black Life on Both Sides of Atlantic

  OVER THE PAST 25 years, Kenneth Montague has built an expansive photography-based collection that explores Blackness and the Black experience, visualizing what Black life looks like on both sides of the Atlantic. The Wedge Collection features images by Black artists from throughout the diaspora—from Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Great Britain, South America,...
Culture Talk: Lisa Edmiston on Auctioning Major Artworks by Norman Lewis, Sam Gilliam, and Romare Bearden From Estate of Her Father, a Black Gallery Owner in Harlem

Culture Talk: Lisa Edmiston on Auctioning Major Artworks by Norman Lewis, Sam Gilliam, and Romare Bearden From Estate of Her Father, a Black Gallery Owner in Harlem

  MAJOR PAINTINGS by Norman Lewis, Sam Gilliam, Charles Alston, Edward Bannister, and Romare Bearden are among the auction highlights at Bonhams in New York this week. The premium works by key figures of 19th and 20th century African American art represent the legacy of a family and a longstanding Black-owned gallery. Featured in the...
Depicting Black Bodies in Motion, Noel W. Anderson's Tapestries Reinvent Images From Iconic TV Show 'Soul Train'

Depicting Black Bodies in Motion, Noel W. Anderson’s Tapestries Reinvent Images From Iconic TV Show ‘Soul Train’

NOEL W. ANDERSON, “Patsey,” (stretched tapestry, 83.3/4 x 110 inches / 213 x 279.4 cm). | From the artist’s studio   WORKING PRIMARILY WITH ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS, Noel W. Anderson reproduces images of police brutality, Black masculinity, and Black love on jacquard tapestries. He reinvents and manipulates both the images and the surfaces of the textiles,...
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, October 2022

Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, October 2022

  October highlights include chief curator appointment at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora, recipients of Studio Museum’s Wein Prize, new gallery representation for Lubaina Himid and Deana Lawson   Key Jo Lee is joining Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco in newly created chief of curatorial affairs and public programs position...
Neon Museum Marks 10 Years at Current Site, Welcoming Visitors at Building Designed by Architect Paul R. Williams

Neon Museum Marks 10 Years at Current Site, Welcoming Visitors at Building Designed by Architect Paul R. Williams

Neon Museum Visitor Center designed by Paul R. Williams. | Courtesy Neon Museum   IN DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS, the Neon Museum is celebrating 10 years at its current location on Las Vegas Boulevard with a special proclamation from the city. The museum collects, restores, and exhibits iconic neon signs, preserving the legacy and symbols of...
Celebrating African American Art Throughout the Year, 2023 Calendars Feature Alma Thomas, Winfred Rembert, Faith Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence & More

Celebrating African American Art Throughout the Year, 2023 Calendars Feature Alma Thomas, Winfred Rembert, Faith Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence & More

  ALMA THOMAS IS RECOGNIZED for her masterful use of color, pattern, and rhythm. With cascading columns of color raining down on a large-scale canvas, “The Eagle Has Landed” (1970-71) is a prominent example of her famed Space paintings. Dominated by vertical planes of blue-toned dabs, the abstract work was inspired by the first moon...
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...
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, September 2022

Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, September 2022

  September marked the start of the fall exhibition season, the death of artist Valerie Maynard, and announcements of several six-figure artist prizes   LIVES | Valerie Maynard (1937-2022) was subject of focused survey at Baltimore Museum of Art (2020-21) and keynote speaker and honorary degree recipient at Maryland Institute College of Art’s 2021 commencement....
Michelle Jacques Appointed Board President of Association of Art Museum Curators, Three Black Women Will Hold Top Board Positions in 2023-24

Michelle Jacques Appointed Board President of Association of Art Museum Curators, Three Black Women Will Hold Top Board Positions in 2023-24

Incoming Board President Michelle Jacques   THE ASSOCIATION of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) & AAMC Foundation announced a new leadership team. Michelle Jacques has been appointed president of the board of trustees for a two-year term beginning Jan. 1. She brings more than two decades of experience in the field to her new role. Currently,...
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...
Who Painted President Obama's White House Portrait? Did He Make a Traditional Choice or Select a Critically Recognized Artist

Who Painted President Obama’s White House Portrait? Did He Make a Traditional Choice or Select a Critically Recognized Artist

  INCREDIBLY INSPIRING, the Obama Portraits have garnered so much attention they are currently on a national tour, traveling to museums throughout the United States. The portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama painted by acclaimed artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, were unveiled by the Smithsonian on Feb. 12, 2018....
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...
Latest News in Black Art: Gaëtane Verna Will Lead Wexner Center, Chakaia Booker Now Repped by David Nolan Gallery, Salary Transparency, What is a Museum? & More

Latest News in Black Art: Gaëtane Verna Will Lead Wexner Center, Chakaia Booker Now Repped by David Nolan Gallery, Salary Transparency, What is a Museum? & More

  Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   Gaëtane Verna is joining the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University as executive director, effective Nov. 15. | Photo by Tyrell Gough   Appointments Art historian and administrator Gaëtane Verna (above)...
Latest News in Black Art: Alteronce Gumby Joins Nicola Vassell Gallery, Lubaina Himid Wins Major Artist Prize, Historic Board Appointment at VMFA & More

Latest News in Black Art: Alteronce Gumby Joins Nicola Vassell Gallery, Lubaina Himid Wins Major Artist Prize, Historic Board Appointment at VMFA & More

  Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   Artist Alteronce Gumby. | Photo by Katharina Balgavy   Representation Abstract artist Alteronce Gumby (above) is now represented by Nicola Vassell Gallery in New York. Gumby makes “vivid interstellar paintings that emerge from his profound...
On the Rise: 47 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in First Half of 2022

On the Rise: 47 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in First Half of 2022

  DOZENS OF BLACK CURATORS and arts leaders took on new appointments in the first half of 2022. Jenenne Whitfield will helm the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Md. Camille Ann Brewer recently assumed leadership of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in California. In London, Gilane Tawadros has been selected as the...
Latest News in Black Art: Lorna Simpson's Portrait of Brittney Griner Covers Time Magazine,  Johnson Publishing Archive Ownership Transfer, First Major Monograph of Hurvin Anderson & More

Latest News in Black Art: Lorna Simpson’s Portrait of Brittney Griner Covers Time Magazine, Johnson Publishing Archive Ownership Transfer, First Major Monograph of Hurvin Anderson & More

  Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   Time, Aug. 8/Aug. 15, 2022: Artwork by Lorna Simpson for TIME, Source photograph by Stephen Gosling—NBAE/Getty Images   Magazines Time magazine commissioned artist Lorna Simpson to illustrate its latest cover (Aug. 8/Aug. 15, 2022) featuring...
Latest News in Black Art: Scholar/Artist Michael D. Harris Died, Chase Hall Joined David Kordansky Gallery, Qualeasha Wood Now Repped by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Edmonia Lewis Finally Gets Degree & More

Latest News in Black Art: Scholar/Artist Michael D. Harris Died, Chase Hall Joined David Kordansky Gallery, Qualeasha Wood Now Repped by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Edmonia Lewis Finally Gets Degree & More

  Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture   Artist Chase Hall. | Photo by Nick Sethi   Representation Artist Chase Hall joined David Kordansky Gallery. His first solo exhibition with the gallery will be on view in New York in fall 2023. Hall...