“Liberal Women Protest March I” (1995) by Nike Davies-Okundaye of Nigeria THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART is celebrating women artists. Over the past five years, the Smithsonian museum has doubled its holdings of art by women. Showcasing some of the recent acquisitions, “I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa,” opened in June. The...
FOR AN EXHIBITION in his hometown of Baltimore Derrick Adams drew on his personal history, sourcing images from a family photo album. Inspired by the decades-old images, he made a series of paintings documenting scenes from his childhood—a pair of bridesmaids in matching turquoise blue dresses, children playing in the yard with a yellow...
SHE GOT A LOT DONE. On Monday, Toni Morrison (1931-2019) died at the age of 88. The announcement of her death prompted an outpouring of laudatory tributes to the author who wrote with authority and aplomb about the lives of black people, with black women at the center of her narratives. Artists were among...
IN THE HANDS OF Marcus Brutus scenes of contemporary black life are saturated with vibrant color and layered with cultural references. Harper’s Books in East Hampton, N.Y., is presenting the artist’s second solo show. About two-dozen paintings made in 2018 and 2019 are on view. The individual and group portraits and scenes of leisure and...
AFTER SEVEN YEARS in Seattle, Mariane Ibrahim has moved her eponymous gallery to Chicago. The new gallery opens next month with an inaugural exhibition dedicated to Ayana V. Jackson, an American artist whose photography examines the construction of identity. Titled “Take Me to the Water,” the presentation will feature a new series of large-scale...
MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE Art Museum (MHCAM) has a new associate curator. Stephanie Sparling Williams joined the museum in South Hadley, Mass., in June. She previously served as assistant curator for the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. MHCAM Director Tricia Y. Paik said she was thrilled to welcome Sparling...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions CHARTING THE EVOLUTION of Wadsworth Jarrell‘s practice, “Come Saturday Punch” presents more than two-dozen works spanning 55 years. One of five original co-founders of AfriCOBRA, the collective established in Chicago in 1968, Jarrell has maintained a unique visual voice throughout his career. True to, but unbound...
Still from Solange’s film “When I Get Home.” | Courtesy the artist The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: Solange Screening Art Film at Museums in U.S. and Europe An international slate of museums and theaters is screening an extended director’s cut...
BEFORE HE PAINTED hotly colored Jazz Age scenes set in Chicago and Paris, Archibald Motley Jr. (1891-1981), made a loving portrait of his paternal grandmother embedded with history and the nuances of her life experience. Emily Sims Motley (1842-1929) was born in Kentucky where she was formerly enslaved. “This painting…is in some ways an...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions CELEBRATING THE CREATIVE CONNECTIONS between a mother and daughter, “REALITY, Times two” presents works by quilt artist Elizabeth Talford Scott (1916-2011) and bead artist Joyce J. Scott. The Baltimore artists lived together for more than 60 years until Elizabeth died in 2011. Born on a South Carolina...
THE MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART announced the appointment of Robyne Robinson as chair of its board of directors. A former news anchor, Robinson is the founder of Five x Five Public Art Consulting. The news was announced July 16 and she has assumed her new post. Known as The M, the St. Paul...
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, Sam Gilliam has been increasingly recognized as one of the most innovative and groundbreaking painters to emerge in second half of the 20th century. His lyrical, color-soaked abstractions expand the definition of painting. Practicing for more than six decades, Gilliam has had relative success throughout his career, yet he...
SIX NOTABLE FIGURES in contemporary art have reimagined Louis Vuitton’s top-handle Capucines bag. The Artycapucines Collection features limited-edition designs by South African artist Nicholas Hlobo and American artist Tschabalala Self, along with Sam Falls, Urs Fischer, Alex Israel, and Jonas Wood. Self is the only female artist in the group. Inspired by the Louis...
“The Old Water” (2004) by Thornton Dial Sr. On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THORTON DIAL SR. (1928-2016), made symbolic mixed-media paintings and sculptural assemblage works with profound titles. “The Last Day of Martin Luther King” (1992), references the civil rights leader’s assassination, a moment of national tragedy, sadness, and mourning, and an...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE UNIFYING THEME of “Show Me Yours” is not readily apparent, until you look closely. The exhibition features paintings by three emerging artists—Brittney Leeanne Williams, Jake Troyli, and Bianca Nemelc—each offering a unique interpretation of the nude form through the lens of identity. Rendered in electric pink,...
AN EMPOWERING MURAL of a North Philadelphia teen graces the facade of the Target in Center City. Rising high above the downtown expanse, Najee Spencer-Young wears a mustard-colored hat cocked just so with a black-and-white floral coat. Despite the coat’s bold print, one’s attention is drawn to her eyes. Almond-shaped, they gaze directly back...
THE HISTORIC ARCHIVE of Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) was sold to a consortium of four foundations—the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for $30 million. The purchase was made through an auction process that commenced July 17 and concluded yesterday. The final sale is...
“Three Little Girls Eating Ice Cream Cones” (1936) by Lucien Aigner WHILE AFRICAN AMERICANS have lived in Harlem for centuries, photographers and artists have notably documented what became black Harlem for about 100 years and continue to train their sights on the cultural mecca increasingly defined by gentrification. The storied Harlem that captures the...
Black Rock Senegal. | Photo by Mamadou Gomis, © Kehinde Wiley BLACK ROCK SENEGAL announced the first group of artists selected for the residency program established by Kehinde Wiley. Located in Dakar, Black Rock is hosting an international slate of 16 artists working in a variety of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, photography, film, and...
MORE THAN A DOZEN EXHIBITIONS, most in and around London, are showcasing the work of black female artists this summer. Presented at museums, nonprofits, and commercial galleries, many of the shows are breaking new ground for the artists, who span generations. Faith Ringgold at Serpentine Galleries is making her European institutional solo debut and...
New Obama Presidential Center Artist Commissions Include Lindsay Adams Painting Inspired by Langston Hughes Poem
Apr 26, 2025
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
