GRAND SCALE narrative installations, figurative scenes produced as cut-paper silhouettes, brought early acclaim to Kara Walker more than 25 years ago. More recently, she has ventured into monumental public art. Her first foray was in 2014, when she created “A Subtlety,” her massive sphinx-like mammy figure, a sculpture covered entirely with sugar installed at...
DETAILS ARE CRITICAL in Kerry James Marshall‘s paintings. In “Our Town” (1995), the artist portrays a pleasant 1950s-era residential neighborhood. A young boy bikes down a vehicle-free lane with his sister and their dog running alongside him. Wearing an apron, their mother can be seen in the distant background waving from the walkway of a...
ART BASEL HONG KONG transitioned to an online experience this month. In the wake of COVID-19, exhibitions and art events have been canceled and postponed across the world. In response, the Hong Kong art fair never opened to the public and instead announced it would move forward as a digital-only experience, introducing online viewing...
PUBLIC LIFE has come to a virtual standstill in much of the United States and parts of Europe and Asia, amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Museums and art galleries are closed. Major events are canceled and art fairs are among the casualties. Earlier this month, The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in...
Trailer: “Get Out” (2017), Written and Directed by Jordan Peele. | Video by Universal Pictures ‘GET OUT’ was “a phenomenal piece of work,” artist Kerry James Marshall said. Kenya Barris, the television writer and producer, is drawn to the neon work “Double America 2” (2014) by Glenn Ligon. “The simplicity of it is radical...
DOZENS OF PUBLICATIONS documenting the work of artists of African descent are scheduled to be published this year. Volumes dedicated to Noah Davis, Jordan Casteel, and Zanele Muholi coincide with major first-time exhibitions. Others are long-awaited volumes surveying the careers of established artists, such as Ming Smith, Samuel Fosso, and Richard Mayhew. The monographs...
LOS ANGELES was a site of inspiration and productivity for a number of artists represented in the forthcoming African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. (Originally planned for April 2, the auction was postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for June 4, the sale is online only.) The sale features lots...
A CONSORTIUM OF NONPROFITS purchased the Johnson Publishing Archive for $30 million last July. The goal was to safeguard the unparalleled collection for the public benefit. Now a significant next step in the process has been announced. The co-owners have established an advisory council to evaluate and interpret the collection and provide guidance about...
ACTIVE FOR ABOUT TWO DECADES, American artist William H. Johnson (1901-1970) made paintings in two distinct styles over the course of his career. Living in Europe from the mid-1920s to 30s, he developed a modern aesthetic making expressive and moody landscapes and later took an interest in folk art and what he called a...
The exhibition galleries at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles remain open to visitors, but public programs are postponed until further notice. CITING SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES from the California Department of Public Health designed “to slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19,” the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles cancelled...
THE MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART (MMA) in Jackson, Miss., announced two new curatorial appointments this week. Following a national search, the museum named Ryan N. Dennis, chief curator and artistic director of the Center for Art & Public Exchange (CAPE), and Holly R. Harrison, deputy director for art and programs. Dennis will lead the museum’s...
Tavares Strachan at 58th Venice Biennale (2019) MULTIMEDIA ARTIST Tavares Strachan has joined Marian Goodman Gallery, the New York-based gallery with locations in Paris and London. Strachan’s artistic practice explores the intersections of art, science, and politics. He works across disciplines to surface unknown histories and investigate the nature of invisibility—why certain histories and...
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART in Washington, D.C., announced UCLA art historian Steven Nelson has been selected as the next dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA). Founded in 1979, CASVA is the museum’s research institute. Currently serving as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor at CASVA (2018–2020), Nelson is on...
TIME MAGAZINE is exploring the most influential women of the past century. 2020 marks 100 years since women gained the right to vote in the United States. To recognize the milestone that transformed women’s individual and collective agency, the magazine launched a project called 100 Women of the Year. Introducing the project, Nancy Gibbs,...
SPRING IS A RECURRING THEME in the abstract paintings of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. Her rhythmic compositions were inspired by the rustling leaves on the Holly Tree outside the bay window in the front room of her home. Thomas also visited the National Arboretum to “get impressions,” as...
“Father, Son, and…” (1969) by Barkley L. Hendricks ONE OF THE BIG DRAWS at the Jack Shainman booth at Frieze Los Angeles last month was a triptych by Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017) called “Father, Son,…” Given the title and the artist’s renown for making masterful portraits that convey his subject’s cool style and mien,...
A CAPTIVATING AND MYSTERIOUS SCENE painted by Noah Davis (1983-2015) attracted a whirlwind of bids yesterday. “In Search of Gallerius Maximumianus” (2009) far exceeded expectations ($60,000-$80,000) and sold for $400,000, fees included. The price was five times the high estimate and established a new artist record. Set March 4 at Phillips New Now sale,...
SHAWN WALKER, “Neighbor at 124 W 117th St, Harlem, New York,” circa 1970-1979. | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division HARLEM IS BOTH HOME AND SUBJECT for photographer Shawn Walker. For more than 50 years, he has been documenting the storied neighborhood. He was born there, lives and works there, and throughout his...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOUND AND RECYCLED TEXTILES are at the heart of Tau Lewis‘s practice. She makes labor-intensive sculptural portraits constructed with hand-sewing, quilting, and assemblage techniques. Her work explores memory, agency, and individual and collective trauma and healing. For example, recent works have considered the legacy of loss...
Still from single-channel video by Tiona Nekkia McClodden THE ARTIST LIST for Prospect New Orleans was officially announced today. Invited artists for the 2020 triennial include Los Angeles-based Mark Bradford, who participated in the first Prospect New Orleans more than a decade ago and is contributing a major new site-specific work; the late Georgia-born...
Turner Prize 2025 Shortlist of Four British Artists Includes Nnena Kalu and Rene Matić
Apr 24, 2025
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
