Contemporary Curated: Works by Kerry James Marshall and Barkley L. Hendricks Top Sotheby’s Sale, New Auction Records for Titus Kaphar, Romare Bearden, Simone Leigh
WORKS BY AN ECLECTIC MIX of artists were offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated auction on Oct. 2 in New York. Important figures from the second half of the 20th century were featured alongside today’s most critically recognized contemporary artists. Five African American artists were ranked among the 10 top-10 highest-priced works by Kerry James...
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...
Fall Galas: Museums are Honoring the Young and Old and Bringing Artists Together Across Disciplines
IT’S GALA SEASON and museums have been hosting star-studded fetes honoring artists and raising funds to support their programs and venues. Artist Rashid Johnson was honored at Performa 19’s opening night gala, paid tribute to a fellow artist at the Dia Art Foundation, and co-chaired the Guggenheim Museum’s gala. (He serves as a trustee...
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,...
Sotheby’s Contemporary Sales in New York Yielded Records for Kevin Beasley, McArthur Binion, Michael Ray Charles, Charles Gaines, Rashid Johnson, and Alma Thomas
SOTHEBY’S ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK that it was being acquired by French-Israeli telecommunications billionaire Patrick Drahi in a $3.7 billion deal. The purchase would take the publicly traded auction house private, again, after 31 years on the New York Stock Exchange. (Other major auction houses are privately held, including Christie’s, its chief rival, Phillips, and...
Sales Results: New Records at Phillips for Christina Quarles, Ed Clark, Rashid Johnson, and Stanley Whitney, Plus ‘Helter Skelter II’ by Mark Bradford Hits Auction Block
THE SPRING CONTEMPORARY AUCTIONS at Phillips New York featured a variety of works by critically acclaimed African American artists—emerging, mid-career, and long-established figures. Lots sold against the backdrop of Mark Bradford’s “Helter Skelter II” (2007), which was on display behind the auctioneer’s podium over the course of three sales spanning two days. On May...
Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated Sale Offered Look at Rarely Seen Works by Faith Ringgold, Henry Taylor, Robert Colescott, Romare Bearden, Jack Whitten & More
AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS figured prominently in Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Curated auction. Works by 32 African American artists were offered, some rarely if ever shown publicly including a 2002 portrait of Malcolm X by Henry Taylor acquired directly from the artist and a pair of Robert Colescott interior scenes that give a nod to Roy...
On View: ‘Rashid Johnson: It Never Entered My Mind’ at Hauser & Wirth, St. Moritz
“Untitled (Broken Men)” (2018) by Rashid Johnson On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions NEW WORKS by Rashid Johnson are on view in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Featured at Hauser & Wirth, the paintings, sculptures, and drawings build on themes Johnson has explored previously. Broken Men is a series of mosaic tile paintings that...
Latest News in African American Art: Rashid Johnson’s ‘Native Son’ Acquired by HBO, David Hammons Exhibition Planned at Hauser & Wirth L.A. & More
Director Rashid Johnson at Sundance The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: Prioritizing Museum Board Diversity The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is launching a three-year, $4 million initiative designed to diversify museum boards and leadership. A...
Art Basel Miami Beach 2018: Select Galleries Throughout the Mega Fair are Showing Works By African and African American Artists, Here’s Where to Find Them
“In My Solitude” (2018) by Billie Zangewa at Blank Projects. ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH (ABMB) opens to the public today. The 17th edition of the art fair features more than 250 galleries from 35 countries in the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. The enthusiasm surrounding ABMB has infused the entire city over the...
Latest News in African American Art: Tavares Strachan Launches Sculpture Into Space, Urgent Call to Repair Richmond Barthé Frieze & More
Artist Tavares Strachan’s work paying tribute to a pioneering African American astronaut was launched into into space on Dec. 3. (Liftoff begins at 19:40). The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS After a couple of delayed...
Charles White Drawing Tops Swann African American Art Sale, 12 Artists Achieve Auction Records
DAYS BEFORE THE OPENING of “Charles White: A Retrospective” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York on Oct. 7, a dramatic drawing by the pivotal, 20th-century figure topped the latest African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries. “Nobody Knows My Name #1” sold for $485,000 (including fees) on Oct. 4....
Early Rashid Johnson Photograph Covers Swann’s Fall African American Art Catalog
“Jonathan with Hands” (1997) by Rashid Johnson A DRAMATICALLY LIT, close-cropped portrait by Rashid Johnson covers the catalog for the African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries on Oct. 4. Johnson’s subject obscures his face with his hands, which are the focus of the image. The gesture is emotional and his fingers—their knuckles...
Latest News in African American Art: Philadelphia Mural Honors Couple That Sought to ‘Improve Negro Race,’ Detroit Art Week, Rashid Johnson Wins Aspen Award
Dickerson Building Mural by Ernel Martinez | via Philadelphia Mural Arts Program 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 legacy of George Edward Dickerson and Addie Whiteman Dickerson, a civic and politically active Philadelphia couple...
Commencement 2018: Glenn Ligon, Dawoud Bey, Carrie Mae Weems, and Joyce J. Scott Are Among the Artists Imparting Wisdom and Expectations on New Graduates
Glenn Ligon spoke at The New School’s 2018 commencement on May 18. A NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS were declared doctors over the past month. Invited to participate in commencement ceremonies for undergraduate and MFA students at institutions around the country, prominent artists, critics, and curators were bestowed honorary doctorate degrees. Addressing 2018 graduates,...
May Exhibitions: Mark Bradford Reps U.S. at Venice Biennale, Martine Syms at MoMA, Plus Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Pope.L, Beauford Delaney, Kehinde Wiley, and More
MUST-SEE EXHIBITIONS featuring some of the most interesting black female artists working today are opening around the world this month. The first solo museum show of Los Angeles-based Martine Syms opens May 27 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In the same city, an amazing show of new portrait paintings by British...
Auction Results: New Records Set for Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Henry Taylor, and Alma Thomas, Compelling Works by El Anatsui Among Many Others by Black Artists Sold Too
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES and in London, auctions of post-war, modern and contemporary art were held at the end of February and early March. Records were set in Los Angeles, where an Alma Thomas painting was offered, and London where Henry Taylor and Njideka Akunyili Crosby achieved new benchmarks. Auction values for Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based...
Artist Rashid Johnson is Expanding his Practice, First Film Project is Adaptation of Richard Wright Novel ‘Native Son’
MONUMENTAL INSTALLATIONS composed of black scaffolding have been the star attraction at Rashid Johnson‘s recent exhibitions. Last fall, “Fly Away” at Hauser & Wirth in New York featured “Antoine’s Organ,” the artist’s largest architectural grid work ever shown in the United States. Overflowing with plants, and filled with lights, video screens, shea butter and...
How Much is That Painting? Top 25 Auction Lots by African American Artists, 2014-2016
Julie Mehretu, “Looking Back to a Bright New Future” (2003). EARLY NEXT MONTH, major auction houses in New York and London are holding post-war and contemporary art sales. In anticipation of the first significant offerings of the year, Culture Type is assessing the state of art by Black artists. In recent years, a cluster...
February Exhibitions: Edgar Arceneaux, Lorna Simpson, Dread Scott, and Nina Chanel Abney’s First Solo Museum Show
A NUMBER OF EXHIBITION FIRSTS coincide with Black History Month this year. “Royal Flush,” Nina Chanel Abney’s first solo museum show opens Feb. 16 at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. In February, South African artist Nicholas Hlobo is presenting his first exhibition in Sweden. Major works by British artists Yinka Shonibare...
