New York Museums are Showcasing African American Art, From the Harlem Renaissance to Contemporary Figuration, Sonya Clark, Lyle Ashton Harris & More
FROM MANHATTAN to Brooklyn and Queens, art museums are presenting important exhibitions of African American artists this spring. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” offers a rare opportunity to see an array of works by prominent 20th century figures, including Aaron Douglas, Laura Wheeler Waring, William H. Johnson, Archibald...
What to See in U.S. Museums This Summer: 15 Solo Exhibitions Featuring Black Artists – Simone Leigh, James Barnor, Ming Smith, Whitfield Lovell, Gary Simmons & More
SOME OF THE SUMMER’S BEST U.S. museum exhibitions are on view beyond the art capitals of New York and Los Angeles. Landmark solo exhibitions of an inter-generational slate of prominent Black artists can be seen in Seattle, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and many cities in between. The first museum survey of photographer Ming Smith is...
Latest News in Black Art: Henry Taylor Show Will Inaugurate Hauser & Wirth Paris, Sonya Clark Touring Exhibition, Plus Updates at LA’s Destination Crenshaw
Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture HENRY TAYLOR, Untitled, 2023. | © Henry Taylor. Photo by Keith Lubow GALLERIES Hauser & Wirth announced its new gallery in Paris, France, is opening Oct. 26. The inaugural exhibition will be a solo show...
Culture Type: The Month in Black Art, Here’s What Happened in November 2022
November highlights include Courtney Willis Blair heading White Cube gallery in New York, Alonzo Davis archives go to Driskell Center, first Black board chair at Florida’s Ringling Museum of Art, Mariane Ibrahim gallery opening in Mexico City < APPOINTMENTS | Nov. 4: John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art Foundation in Sarasota, Fla.,...
Andy Warhol Foundation Announces $3.8 Million in Grants to Museums, Funding Supports Major Solo Exhibitions Dedicated to Ming Smith, Fred Eversley, and Sonya Clark
THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION for the Visual Arts announced recipients of its Spring 2021 grants, awarding $3.8 million to 50 organizations across the United States and Canada. The grants are giving a new wave of established artists much deserved attention in the form of solo museum exhibitions. The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is organizing...
Commencement 2021: Fulton Leroy Washington is Addressing UCLA Art Students, Howardena Pindell, Lonnie Bunch, Amy Sherald, Sonya Clark, and Theaster Gates are Also Speaking at Graduations
WHATEVER WISDOM Fulton Leroy Washington (aka Mr. Wash) imparts on graduating art students at UCLA, he will likely emphasize the importance of time. Don’t waste it. Make the most of it. You can’t get it back. Washington is delivering the keynote address at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture graduating class of...
National Museum of Women in the Arts is Presenting First Survey of Textile and Social Practice Artist Sonya Clark in March 2021
“Afro Abe II” (2010) by Sonya Clark THE SINGULAR PRACTICE of Sonya Clark will be showcased for the first time with a full-scale survey at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. A textile and social practice artist, Clark explores issues of race, identity, visibility, and Blackness, expressing herself...
Flag Flying: Artists Are Using the Symbolic Medium to Raise Political and Social Issues
WHAT TO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTIST is the Fourth of July? Is it consumed by fireworks and barbecue or grounded, perhaps, in the words of Frederick Douglass? On July 5, 1852, Douglass gave a historic address in Rochester, N.Y., at an event commemorating the Declaration of Independence. He said in part: What, to the...
Swann African American Art Sale Yields Records for Women Artists Including Simone Leigh, Emma Amos, and Howardena Pindell, Top Lot by Norman Lewis
THE LATEST SALE of African-American Fine Art at Swann Auction Galleries resulted in auction records for several living women artists, including Simone Leigh, Emma Amos and Howardena Pindell. In addition, works by Sonya Clark and Allison Janae Hamilton appeared at auction for the first time and established benchmarks well above their estimates. Lot 171:...
PAFA Has Acquired a Confederate Flag. Artist Sonya Clark is ‘Unraveling’ it Nov. 4
In September, PAFA acquired “Unraveling” (2015-ongoing) by Sonya Clark for $17,000. The artist is deconstructing (or “unraveling”) the Confederate flag on Nov. 4. | Courtesy Sonya Clark THE FATE OF CONFEDERATE STATUES in public spaces. NFL players taking a knee during the National Anthem. America’s complicated history with race and views about protest and...
At Blanton Museum in Austin, Local Patrons ‘Crowdsource’ Historic Purchase
SONYA CLARK, “Madam C. J. Walker,” 2008 (combs). | Collection of Blanton Museum of Art THE BLANTON MUSEUM OF ART is reinstalling its permanent collection. When the second-floor gallery spaces reopen on Feb. 12, works by African American artists will be among the standout attractions. The collection exhibition features new acquisitions and holdings that...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Mark Bradford Designs ICA LA Logo, Sanford Biggers Joins Marianne Boesky Gallery
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. This week, Mark Bradford designed a museum logo; Sanford Biggers joined a new gallery; and Ralph Lemon was recognized with a dance award. New exhibitions opened...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Camille Ann Brewer Joins GWU Textile Museum, Rosa Parks House Considered Art
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to visual art by and about people of African descent, with the occasional nod to cultural matters. This week, highlights include the announcement that the Detroit home of Rosa Parks will be repurposed as art; plans for a new museum in Nigeria and assessments...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Willie Cole’s Work is Helping to School KU Students
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include news that timed entry tickets for the Sept. 24 grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., will be released starting this morning; an...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Large Donations Continue at Smithsonian African American Museum
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent. This week, highlights include the departure of the director of El Museo del Barrio; a network of public librarians and a collective black women artists rallying in support of Black Lives Matter; and announcements...
Commencement 2015: African American Artists Bestow Wisdom on Graduates
LIKENING ARTISTS TO SUPER HEROES, Los Angeles-based artist Alison Saar offered an animated message of encouragement at the Maryland Institute of College of Art (MICA) undergraduate commencement on May 18. “In our studios…our super hero persona emerges, determined to save the day, with the desire to make this world a better place through our creative...
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...
A Tale of Two Flags: Sonya Clark at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
SONYA CLARK STIRS HISTORY and explores cultural meaning using human hair and all of its heavy and joyous symbolism. The artist describes hair as power, the essence of identity and a marker of chronology, wisdom and adornment. Her “Black Hair Flag” is currently on view in the “Posing Beauty in African American Culture” exhibition...
