New Year, New Art: What to Look Forward to in 2017
IN THE COMING YEAR, 20 biennials and triennials are happening around the world. Documenta 14 is opening in Athens, Greece, and Kassel, Germany; the Whitney Biennial and Performa 17 are occurring in New York; and New Orleans is hosting Prospect.4. Meanwhile, artists are diversifying their practices and reaping the benefits of critical recognition. Mark Bradford...
Representation: 10 African American Artists to Watch Who Joined New Galleries in 2016
AT EVERY STAGE IN AN ARTIST’S CAREER, joining a new gallery can offer new opportunities and possibilities. Over the past year, emerging artists, mid-career artists, and well-established artists who have been practicing for half a century, joined the rosters of major galleries. For an artist, the right partnership can sharpen business outcomes and help bolster...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Theaster Gates Starts Apprentice Program, Rodney McMillian Wins Austin Art Prize
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, Theaster Gates announced a groundbreaking apprenticeship program to provide training for local residents through his Rebuild Foundation in Chicago; Rodney McMillian received an important...
With the Smithsonian African American Museum Set to Open in Washington, the Entire City is Brimming with Black Art
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is exhibiting works from its collection by African American artists including WILLIAM H. JOHNSON. WITH THE GRAND OPENING of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) less than a week away, anticipation is palpable. Visitor passes for the opening weekend disappeared shortly after their release...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Hamza Walker to Head LAXART, National Medal of Arts Announced
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent, with a few nods to culture thrown in. This week, highlights include news that President Obama created a national monument, will honor artists Jack Whitten and Ralph Lemon with the National Medal of Arts, and...
Stanley Nelson Directs Premiere Episode of ART21 Featuring Chicago Artists Nick Cave and Theaster Gates
Embed from Getty Images CHICAGO HAS A VIBRANT ART SCENE, which surprised director Stanley Nelson. The Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker known for telling stories about the Freedom Riders, Emmett Till, Wounded Knee, Jonestown, Oak Bluffs, the Black Press, and most recently, the Black Panthers, has trained his lens on Chicago artists. Nelson is directing...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter
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 black women artists gathered in New York in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Also motivated by the movement, a group of black creative directors launched an initiative...
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...
Global Trotting: From Toronto to London and Addis Ababa, 17 Exhibitions Present the Work of Black Artists This Summer
TRAVELING TO TORONTO? Stop by Art Gallery Ontario (AGO) in Toronto, Canada, where a pair of solo exhibitions featuring British artist Hurvin Anderson and Chicago artist Theaster Gates are on view this summer. Both are also exhibiting in Europe. There is a Gates exhibition in Milan, Italy, and “Hurvin Anderson: Dub Versions” is at the...
New Season of ART21 Features African American Artists Edgar Arceneaux, Nick Cave, Stan Douglas, and Theaster Gates
Artists Edgar Arceneaux, Nick Cave, Stan Douglas, and Theaster Gates are featured in Season 8 of ART21. THE NEW SEASON OF “ART21: Art in the 21st Century” debuts Sept. 16, 2016. For the first time, the PBS series is focusing on the connection to place and the ways an artist’s practice is influenced and...
Spring Shows: 32 New Exhibitions Feature Innovative Works by Black Artists
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED museum exhibitions of the season, a major survey of Kerry James Marshall‘s work, primarily focused on his painting over the past 35 years, is opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, on April 23. In September, the exhibition will travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York...
Culture Type Picks: 14 Best Black Art Books of 2015
MANY OF THIS YEAR’S BEST African American art books were published to coincide with exhibitions. The correlation is not surprising given the caliber of exhibitions on view in 2015, including innovative (“Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now”) and long overdue (“Noah Purify: Junk Dada” and “Procession: The Art of Norman Lewis”)...
The Year in Black Art: March 2015
CULTURE TYPE IS REVIEWING The Year in Black Art 2015 in monthly installments over the coming weeks. The report began with a look at The Newsmakers, seven artists and curators who continue to advance their practices and their projects with fresh approaches and new ideas—efforts that are recognized and often garner significant news coverage. The...
The Year in Black Art 2015: The Newsmakers
OVER THE PAST YEAR, a number of black artists and curators have made news on a regular basis, whether for groundbreaking projects and exhibitions, or for earning a significant honor or appointment. These key figures—both established and recently eclipsing emerging status—are not only pushing their own practices and institutions in innovative new directions, they are...
African American Artists Factor in New Developments at Hirshhorn Museum
TWO YEARS FROM NOW, in 2017, Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford (above) plans to take full advantage of the unique cylindrical structure of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. The critically recognized artist is installing a suite of site-specific paintings on the third floor of the Smithsonian museum where the work...
Recent Covers: Steve McQueen on ‘T,’ Thelma Golden on ‘Cultured,’ Lorna Simpson on ‘Bookforum,’ and More
THIS SEASON, A VARIETY of magazines feature on their covers some of the most dynamic African American artists (and curator) working today. In addition, the forthcoming issue of the New York Times’s “T” magazine includes Amsterdam-based British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen on one of six covers for its inaugural The Greats issue celebrating...
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...
Theaster Gates Gave a TED Talk About Reviving Communities with Cultural Development
WHETHER DESCRIBED AS AN ARTIST, urban planner or creative entrepreneur, Theaster Gates‘s innovative approach to improving his Chicago neighborhood has garnered wide attention over the past five years or so. His use of cultural capital to transform blighted buildings on his Dorchester block into gathering places for film screenings, musical performances, dinner parties, conferences...
Art x Music: Art World Embraces Kanye West, Afrika Bambaataa and Drake
View image | gettyimages.com THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND MUSIC is increasingly ever present. Several new examples emerged over the past week. A cartoon-like action figure of Pharrell Williams entitled “Happy” was presented at the Perrotin Gallery booth at Art Basel Hong Kong (March 15-17). According to ARTnews, the small-scale sculpture by Japanese artist Mr....
Mark Bradford and Theaster Gates Post Record Sales at London Auctions
WHEN THE HAMMER CAME DOWN at Phillips London, Mark Bradford’s “Biting the Book” sold for more than $3.8 million, a record for the Los Angeles-based artist. A large-scale, mixed-media painting created in 2013, it was featured in Bradford’s “Through the Darkest America by Truck and Tank” exhibition at the Bermondsey location of White Cube...
