New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Feature Works by Artists Trenton Doyle Hancock, Kara Walker, Martha Jackson Jarvis, Terry Adkins, and Elias Sime
WHAT TO SEE IN NEW YORK? Five solo exhibitions explore the unexpected. Best known for her monochromatic cut-paper silhouettes, Kara Walker’s latest show features a few dozen watercolors produced in a spectrum of color. New collage paintings made by Trenton Doyle Hancock explore satirical narratives with his superhero character confronting Philip Guston’s Klan figures. Also...
London: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Present Works by Artists Deborah Roberts, Nengi Omuku, Sokari Douglas Camp, Gareth Nyandoro, Mostaff Muchawaya, and Kara Walker
CURRENTLY ON VIEW in London, galleries are presenting solo exhibitions of American artists Deborah Roberts and Kara Walker; emerging Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku; and British Nigerian sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp. In addition, a two-artist show is presenting works by Gareth Nyandoro and Mostaff Muchawaya, who are both based in Harare, Zimbabwe. The exhibitions dedicated...
Kara Walker Has Opened Her Personal Archive, Showing Nearly 270 Drawings
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...
2,500+ Artists Sign Open Letter Endorsing Bernie Sanders for President, Group Includes Kara Walker, Kevin Beasley, and Aria Dean
A SIZABLE GROUP OF ARTISTS has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for President of the United States, issuing an open letter of support outlining the reasons why they think the he is the best candidate in the Democratic field. More than 2,500 artists have endorsed the online letter, including Kader Attia, Kevin Beasley, Nicole...
Writer Roxane Gay Weighs in on Kara Walker’s Work at the New MoMA: ‘It’s Important that You Don’t Look Away’
IN ANTICIPATION OF ITS REOPENING, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York asked writer Roxane Gay to select a work of art from its collection and discuss what she sees in it. She chose “Christ’s Entry Into Journalism” (2017) by Kara Walker. “She has managed in a series of figures to depict...
Black Artists are Headlining Exhibitions Throughout the UK This Fall, 24 Feature the Likes of Kara Walker, Lina Iris Viktor, Mark Bradford, and Otobong Nkanga
OCTOBER IN THE UK is black history month. It’s also a significant month when it comes to art this year. Throughout this month, and the rest of the fall season, there are many opportunities to experience the work of emerging and established figures. Black artists are headlining exhibitions at museums and galleries in London,...
Latest News in African American Art: Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys Plan Art Center, New Yorker Commissions Toni Morrison Cover by Kara Walker, Smithsonian Acquires Beyonce Portrait by Tyler Mitchell & More
South African Artist David Koloane (1938-2019) The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: South African Artist David Koloane Died at 81 A prominent figure in apartheid-era South Africa artist David Koloane (1938-2019) died June 30. “Apartheid was a politics of space more than...
Paintings By Black Female Artists Soar at London Contemporary Auctions, Records Set by Kara Walker, Tschabalala Self, Nina Chanel Abney, and Toyin Ojih Odutola
IN VIVID BLACK AND BLUE, “Four Idioms on Negro Art #4 Primitivism” (2015) by Kara Walker depicts a violent confrontation among four silhouetted figures. A police officer in combat gear hovers over the scene. A phallus hanging between his wide spread legs, he is kicking a male figure that is sucking the breast of...
Artists Wangechi Mutu and Kara Walker Land Major Museum Commissions
Wangechi Mutu at the Metropolitan Museum of Art THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART in New York and the Tate Modern in London recently announced new artist commissions. The Met plans a series of contemporary art installations at its Fifth Avenue flagship. For one of the projects, Wangechi Mutu is creating sculptures that will be...
A Huge Kara Walker Triptych is on Display in Ari Emanuel’s L.A. Home, Works by Mark Bradford and Sam Gilliam Hang Nearby
A 2014 triptych by Kara Walker dominates the living area of Ari Emanuel’s home. A painting by Mark Bradford is on display to the left. THE ART-FILLED HOME of talent power broker Ari Emanuel is for sale. Emanuel is co-CEO of Endeavor, the talent and entertainment agency, The contemporary-style home in the Mandeville Canyon...
Latest News in African American Art: Ntozake Shange Has Died, Torkwase Dyson at Colby College, Dutch Pavilion at 2019 Venice Biennale & More
Artist Torkwase Dyson. | Photo by Gabe Souza The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS Nigeria is planning a new Benin Royal Museum to display historic bronze sculptures looted from Benin by British troops in 1897...
Latest News in African American Art: SFMOMA Honoring Kara Walker, Titus Kaphar Nabs Rappaport Prize, Studio Museum Hires Legacy Russell, Akili Tommasino Joining MFA Boston
Cleveland Museum of Art The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS The Cleveland Museum of Art announced its first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan on Aug. 12. The result of a year-and-a-half collaboration among the institutions’s...
Phillips: Recent Contemporary Auctions Include New Records for African American Artists Stanley Whitney and Hugo McCloud; Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Among Top Lots
Lot 148: LYNETTE YIADOM-BOAKYE, “The Separate,” 2011 (oil on canvas, 160 x 200 cm, 63 x 78 3/4 inches). | Estimate £100,000-£150,000. Sold for £237,000 ($327,629) including fees. TOP TEN LOT: Ranked No. 5 in results A NUMBER OF WORKS BY AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS stood out at Phillips contemporary art sales in London last...
The Atlantic Explores Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy Through a Contemporary Lens, with Contributions From Artists LaToya Ruby Frazier and Kara Walker
KARA WALKER, “Dr. King,” 2015 THE YEAR 2018 coincides with many historic milestones. It’s been a half century since the Studio Museum in Harlem was founded, the Chicago artist collective AFRICOBRA was formed, Olympic track athletes raised their fists at the Mexico City games in a stand for racial justice, and the Kerner Commission...
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...
Culture Type: The Year in Black Art 2017
POLITICS PAST AND PRESENT coursed through the art world in 2017. Issues of censorship and debates around who has the right to depict black bodies came to the fore. The biggest news stories, from White House machinations, gun violence, and immigration to the fate of Confederate monuments, racial division, and sexual harassment and assault revelations,...
Harvard Art Museums Acquire Large-Scale Drawing by Kara Walker From Recent Fall Show at Sikkema Jenkins Gallery
HARVARD ART MUSEUMS have acquired a monumental drawing from one of this fall’s most talked about gallery exhibitions. Kara Walker‘s “U.S.A. Idioms” was purchased from “the Most Astounding and Important Painting Show of the Fall Viewing Season!,” an exhibition of new works on paper by Walker at Sikkema Jenkins. The show opened Sept. 7...
Annual List of Top 100 Art World Power Players Includes Notable Rankings for Thelma Golden, African American Artists
From left, Curator Thelma Golden. | Photo © Julie Skarratt; Artist Kara Walker. | Photo by Paul Zimmerman, Getty Images THELMA GOLDEN IS THE EIGHTH most powerful person in the art world, according to Art Review. The London-based international contemporary art magazine published its 2017 Power 100 list of the most influential figures in...
October Openings: Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Toyin Ojih Odutola, John Akomfrah, African Design, Hank Willis Thomas Debuts in London, and Women Working in Abstraction
THE FALL SEASON continues with an international slate of black artists presenting new and important work in the United States and abroad. The Whitney is hosting Toyin Ojih Odutola‘s first exhibition in a New York museum. A monumental exhibition of African design is making its U.S. debut at the High Museum in Atlanta. Njideka...
Major African American Contemporary Artists are Bringing Their Work to Washington, D.C.
A post shared by Hirshhorn (@hirshhorn) on Oct 14, 2017 at 11:16am PDT Theaster Gates presented “Plantation Lullabies,” a discussion and performance, at the Hirshhorn Museum Oct. 13. THE HIRSHHORN MUSEUM was infused with sacred, soulful music on Friday evening. The museum hosted the second installment of Theaster Gates‘s four-part series Processions. The collaborative...
