Los Angeles: 5 Gallery Shows Feature Works by Artists Fred Eversley, Amy Sherald, Stanley Whitney, Asuka Anastacia Ogawa, and Brenna Youngblood
CURRENTLY ON VIEW IN LOS ANGELES, five galleries are presenting solo exhibitions of highly regarded African American artists working in a variety of mediums and styles, including portraiture, abstraction, and sculpture. The presentations include the first West Coast exhibition of Amy Sherald, Stanley Whitney’s first full-scale exhibition in Los Angeles, and Brenna Youngblood’s first...
The Week in Black Art, March 1-7, 2021: Two Museums Will Acquire Amy Sherald’s Portrait of Breonna Taylor, Text From Obama Speech Will Grace Facade of Presidential Museum
This post will be updated with the latest news in Black art throughout the week AMY SHERALD (b. 1973), “Breonna Taylor,” 2020 (oil on linen, 137.2 x 109.2 cm / 54 x 43 inches). | © Amy Sherald. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Joseph Hyde March 7, 2021...
Culture Talk: Director Sam Pollard on His New HBO Documentary ‘Black Art: In the Absence of Light’
Trailer for “Black Art: In the Absence of Light.” | Video by HBO THE OPENING SCENE OF Sam Pollard‘s documentary “Black Art: In the Absence of Light” is half-century-old footage of NBC’s Tom Brokaw talking with David C. Driskell (1931-2020) on the Today Show. The interview is about Driskell’s seminal exhibition “Two Centuries of...
Amy Sherald Painting Skyrockets to Record-Setting $4.2 Million at Phillips, Works by 4 More Black Artists Set New Benchmarks
A DOUBLE PORTRAIT by Amy Sherald set an astronomic new auction record Dec. 7 at Phillips New York. “The Bathers” (2015) soared to $4,265,000 against a low-six figure estimate of $150,000-$200,000. The painting sold for about 20 times its high estimate with bidding ongoing for 15 minutes. “The Bathers” was the first lot in...
Online: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Focus on Artists Amy Sherald, Charles Gaines, Genevieve Gaignard, Edgar Arceneaux, and The Racial Imaginary Institute
NEW NORMS of remote engagement have emerged from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the positive extensions of this development is galleries presenting online exhibitions, initially in lieu of and increasinly alongside in-person shows, expanding opportunities to experience new and recent works by artists. Shown here are five online exhibitions hosted by...
Amy Sherald Painted a Portrait of Breonna Taylor for Vanity Fair: ‘I Wanted it to Feel Ethereal But Grounded at the Same Time’
A BEAUTIFUL PORTRAIT of Breonna Taylor looking regal and “ethereal” in a flowing blue-green gown graces the cover of the September 2020 issue of Vanity Fair. The portrait is a painting by Amy Sherald, a posthumous tribute commissioned by the magazine for The Great Fire, a special project guest edited by journalist and author...
There’s a New Wave of Critically Recognized Black Female Artists. These Publications are the First to Document Their Work
A NEW WAVE OF BLACK FEMALE ARTISTS has been making strides in the art world, over the past several years, with major exhibitions, museum acquisitions, collector support, gallery representation, and auction records that most practitioners don’t see in their entire careers. These recent publications are the first major volumes to document the individual practices...
CBS News Marks Flag Day with Report on Black National Anthem, Coverage Follows Earlier Features on Black Art and Artists
CBS Sunday Morning reports on “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” TODAY IS FLAG DAY. CBS News marked the occasion with a report about “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” The James Weldon Johnson poem was set to music in 1899 by Johnson’s younger brother, the composer John Rosamond Johnson. Known as the Black National Anthem,...
Culture Type: The Year in Black Art 2019
ONCE RELEGATED TO THE MARGINS, artists of African descent continued to migrate toward the center of the art world in 2019, claiming space on just about every front as the decade came to a close. Black contemporary artists won many of the year’s most prestigious and lucrative international art prizes. They shared their work...
New York Now: Fall Exhibitions Feature Amy Sherald, Roy DeCarava, Wangechi Mutu, Melvin Edwards, Alvin Baltrop, and Ed Clark, Plus Betye Saar and Pope.L at the New MoMA
Installation view of Betye Saar at Museum of Modern Art FALL IN NEW YORK CITY is always a time of renewal and fresh new perspectives when it comes what’s next and relevant in art. This season there are an exceptional number of opportunities to experience the work of African American artists in museums, galleries,...
Amy Sherald Worked With Mural Arts Philadelphia on an Amazing Six-Story Portrait that Celebrates Young Black Women
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...
Sales Results: At Christie’s, Portrait by Amy Sherald Marks Artist’s Auction Debut, Plus Mickalene Thomas and Stanley Whitney Establish New Records
WORKS BY FIVE African American artists opened Christie’s contemporary sale on May 16, with exceptional results for women artists. Amy Sherald made her auction debut with a portrait that sold for three times the estimate. Mickalene Thomas achieved a new artist record and a painting by Jordan Casteel more than doubled expectations. A body...
Ursula Magazine: Hauser & Wirth Introduced a New Art Quarterly Featuring Linda Goode Bryant, Lorna Simpson, Amy Sherald, Senga Nengudi, and Jack Whitten
THE INAUGURAL ISSUE of Ursula magazine begins and ends with depictions of African American women by black female artists. The cover features a collage image of Linda Goode Bryant by Lorna Simpson. A painting by Amy Sherald illustrates the back cover the magazine. Bryant is the pioneering founder of Just Above Midtown (JAM), the...
Black Art History: 17 Exhibition ‘Firsts’ Happening This February
BLACK HISTORY MONTH coincides with a number museum and gallery exhibitions marking new milestones for African American artists. On-the-rise talents such as Jordan Casteel, Eric N. Mack, and Amy Sherald are presenting their first major solo museum exhibitions this month. Nari Ward and Kevin Beasley are having their first New York museum shows. Mid-career...
Culture Type: The Year in Black Art 2018
IN MANY WAYS, 2018 was a watershed year for black artists. Overdue recognition of art by African American artists and black artists from throughout the world, continued to grow among collectors, curators, critics, scholars, and gallery owners. There were many indicators of the ever-expanding institutional and market interest. European attention on African American artists rose....
Latest News in African American Art: Okwui Enwezor Speaks Out, Artist Lauren Halsey Wins $100,000 Mohn Award & More
The former director of Haus der Kunst and artistic director of the 2015 Venice Biennale, Okwui Ewezor gave an extensive interview to Spiegel about his tenure at the Munich museum. He also spoke recently to the Art Newspaper. | Photo by Joerg Koch for Getty Images The following review of the past week or...
Baltimore Museum of Art Swaps Works by Warhol, Kline, Noland, and Rauschenberg for Acquisitions by Whitten, Sherald, Mutu, and Yiadom-Boakye
“9.11.01”by Jack Whitten is one of seven acquisitions made with proceeds from the deaccessioned works. COMMITTED TO DIVERSIFYING its holdings, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) announced major acquisitions by prominent artists of African descent, including the first works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien, Amy Sherald, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye to enter the museum’s...
Newly Focused on Acquiring African American Art, Columbus Museum Adds Works by Robert Neal and Augusta Savage to Collection
Robert Neal, “Rearguard,” 1950 (oil on linen canvas). | Courtesy Swann Auction Galleries A STRIKING PORTRAIT of an African American soldier during the Korean War was acquired by the Columbus Museum this month. “Rearguard” by Robert Neal (1916-1987) is the latest in a series works by African American artists to enter the Columbus, Ga.,...
Amy Sherald is Joining Hauser & Wirth, the Mega-Gallery Announced its Worldwide Representation of the Baltimore-Based Artist
HAUSER & WIRTH ANNOUNCED its representation of Amy Sherald March 20. The Baltimore-based artist paints imaginative portraits of ordinary African Americans. She recently took on a well-known subject for the first time when she was commissioned to paint First Lady Michelle Obama whose portrait was unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery on Feb....
The Month in African American Art: Here’s What Happened in February 2018
Kara Walker and her crew install “The Katastwóf Karavan” at Algiers Point in New Orleans. | Photo © Ari Marcopoulos by via Prospect New Orleans BLACK HISTORY MONTH was rife with notable moments in art history, chief among them, the unveiling of the Obama portraits at the National Portrait Gallery on Feb 12. Washington...
