The Year in Black Art Books, Catalogs and Magazines 2014
IT WAS A THRILL TO OPEN the January issue of W magazine and find photographer Lorna Simpson’s evocative images of the cast of “12 Years a Slave” and conclude the year with a package delivered after Christmas containing “Du Bois in Our Time,” a visual testament to the intellectual’s legacy. In the months between, some...
Assessing the Fall Contemporary Auctions in New York
ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN YOU and owning works by some of the most highly regarded artists practicing today is the wave of a paddle. Major auction houses are staging their fall contemporary sales this week. Works by El Anatsui, Chris Ofili, Mickalene Thomas and Glenn Ligon are up for consideration. Bidding is underway already with...
Today is Election Day, Vote with Your Art
ACROSS THE COUNTRY TODAY, voters are casting ballots in the mid-term elections. Congressional seats, state offices and local initiatives, including arts funding, are up for consideration. Nationwide, President Obama’s handling of ISIS and Ebola is overshadowing fundamental economic issues, though politics remains mostly local. The most competitive states where outcomes will determine the balance of...
Art Agenda | June 23-29, 2014
ART AGENDA IS A LISTING OF MUST-SEE EXHIBITION OPENINGS and interesting talks and appearances happening this week in black art. Today’s edition features a panoply of impressive presentations of modern and contemporary art from Los Angeles and Sacramento to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York: June 25 – Aug. 10, 2014 “If You Build...
‘Art Studio America’: Glenn Ligon Makes Those Text Paintings in an Old Canning Factory
WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE AN ARTIST’S WORK at a museum or gallery, do you wonder where it all came from? Where it was imagined, conceptualized and created? “Art Studio America: Contemporary Artist Spaces” answers these questions in spades, taking readers inside the studios of 116 artists from the West Coast to Chicago and New York and...
6 Best Black Art Books of 2013
WHETHER YOU WISH TO ADD to your own collection or you’re looking for the perfect gift for your favorite art aficionado, several excellent books were published this year, expanding the scholarship on contemporary Black art. Significant volumes from Kara Walker, Theaster Gates and Lorna Simpson were among the best. Here is the list of...
