WEDDINGS, FUNERALS, PARADES, CHRISTMAS SCENES, and all manner of portraits. The photographs of James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) have come to define 20th century Harlem. His powerful pictures capture the beauty and pride of Black life, documenting everyday moments and special celebrations. His subjects were cosmopolitan Black families, artists, and political leaders—Adam Clayton Powell...
TWENTY YEARS AGO, Michael Ray Charles was a rare quantity—a Black contemporary artist with mainstream recognition. His potent and thought-provoking work explored African American representation in popular culture, employed blackface and caricature to confront racial stereotypes, and presented complex images aimed directly at America’s shameful history of slavery, subjugation, racial violence, and white supremacy....
Incoming RISD President Crystal Williams. | Photo by Jo Sittenfeld THE NEXT PRESIDENT of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is Crystal Williams. The school’s board of trustees announced the news this morning. A professor, poet, and diversity advocate, Williams brings more than two decades of higher education experience to RISD. She currently...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Dec. 8, 2021: At PAFA, incoming president Eric Pryor is flanked by paintings by John Neagle (“Pat Lyon at the Forge,” 1829) and Kehinde Wiley (Three Wise Men Greeting Entry into Lagos,” 2008). | Courtesy...
CULTURAL CRITIC AND MUSICIAN Greg Tate (1957-2021) died Dec. 7 in New York. He was 64. Widely renowned and beloved, Tate wrote with a singular style and insight about music, art, and culture at-large. In the 1970s, he worked at Just Above Midtown Gallery in New York, the storied gathering place and exhibition space...
“Because I Wanna Fly” (2021) by Whitfield Lovell On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions EMOTIONAL AND EVOCATIVE, Whitfield Lovell‘s work draws on memory and metaphor. His source images are found photographs of anonymous African Americans dating from emancipation to the civil rights era. He explores the Black experience by connecting past lives...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Aritist and Designer Virgil Abloh (1980-2021). | Photo by Katrina Wittkamp, Courtesy MCA Chicago Lives Virgil Abloh, the trailblazing designer and inveterate collaborator who made historic strides in the fashion world and provided opportunities...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions COWBOYS AND TWINS take center stage at the Rubell Museum in Miami, where Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe is presenting his 2021 Artist-in-Residence exhibition. Quaicoe stands out among a proliferation of young artists emerging over the past several years whose central focus is Black portraiture. Quaicoe generally...
THE POETIC LANDSCAPES of Joseph Yoakum (1891-1972) are transporting. Yoakum said he drew what he saw as he made his way in the world. He depicted meandering streams, mountainous vistas, and forested terrains, creating texture and dimension within the topographical scenes using dense hash marks made with ballpoint and felt-tip pens. He further added...
THE EVER-PRESENT FLORAL PATTERNS in the background of Kehinde Wiley’s famous portraits inspired a set of notecards. A deck of playing cards features artwork by Gee’s Bend, Ala., quilt artists. Rashid Johnson’s Untitled Escape Collage is emblazoned on a hoodie. From apparel and accessories to stationery and home goods, African American artists have inspired...
Installation view of “Oliver Lee Jackson: Vibrato” On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A SURVEY OF WORKS by Oliver Lee Jackson (born 1935) is on view at Rena Bransten Gallery. “Vibrato” features mixed-media paintings, prints, and sculpture dating from the 1980s and 2009 to 2021. Infused with spirit and emotion, Jackson’s powerful...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture THORNTON DIAL, “History Refused to Die,” 2004 (okra stalks and roots, clothing, collages drawings, tin, wire, steel, Masonite, steel chain, enamel, and spray paint, 102 x 87 x 23 inches). | © Estate of Thornton...
Installation view of “Black Girl Magic” (2021) by Criola DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS is infused with public art, including a powerful portrait of a Black Brazilian woman rendered against a graphic, patterned backdrop. Towering high above 7th Street at Stewart Avenue, “Black Girl Magic” is a pair of murals recently installed by Taina Lima, the...
AN IMPORTANT REPOSITORY of images, books, and materials documenting African American history and culture, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University announced the addition of more than 200 photographs by Gordon Parks to its collection. The prints were acquired directly from The Gordon Parks Foundation and include selections from 11 of...
‘GLENN LIGON: AMERICA’ opened in 2011 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, then located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Before entering the museum, visitors to Glenn Ligon‘s mid-career retrospective were greeted by “Warm Broad Glow II” (2011), installed in the front window, facing Madison Avenue. Lighting up the wealthy, overwhelmingly white New York...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture From left, Curators Kimberli Gant and Stephanie Sparling Williams. | Courtesy Brooklyn Museum Appointments The Brooklyn Museum announced two new curatorial appointments. Stephanie Sparling Williams is joining the museum as the Andrew W. Mellon...
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO announced new leadership appointments to its curatorial team today. Jamillah James was named Manilow Senior Curator. MCA Chicago described her new role as leading the visual arts department and serving as a “driving force” in curatorial programming. She joins the museum from the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Artist Torkwase Dyson in her New York studio. | Photo by Weston Wells Representation Torkwase Dyson joined Gray, the Chicago-based gallery. Dyson’s practice spans painting, drawing, installation, and sculpture. Her abstract works explore how...
AN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES PROFESSOR, Imani Perry is selling a portrait by Amy Sherald, that depicts a Black woman looking regal, poised, and dignified. The subject is wearing a jeweled crown, pearl necklace, and an elegant, navy blue gown with white opera-length gloves and a violet sash á la a beauty queen. Her red...
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Appointments The Morgan Library & Museum in New York appointed Jesse R. Erickson to the position of Astor Curator and Department Head, Printed Books and Bindings. He officially starts in January. At the University of...
Diallo Simon-Ponte is Joining Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, as Inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs
Apr 23, 2025
On View: ‘Alberta Whittle: Towards a Motherful Loving Praxis, We Cast Seeds Into the Darkness’ at Nicola Vassell Gallery in New York
Apr 19, 2025
Jack Shainman Gallery Now Represents the Estate of Faith Ringgold, ‘Artist Played Significant Role in Shaping Culture of American Art’
Apr 17, 2025
On View: ‘Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue’ Presents Moving Figurative Compositions at ACA Galleries in New York
Apr 12, 2025
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, Here’s What Happened in April 2025
Apr 11, 2025
