Latest News in Black Art: Sonia Boyce and Simone Leigh Win Golden Lions at Venice Biennale, Souls Grown Deep Brokers International Acquisitions, Artist List for Okwui Enwezor’s Sharjah Biennial & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Representing Great Britain, Sonia Boyce’s exhibition won the Golden Lion for best national pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. | Photo by Felix Hörhager/picture alliance via Getty Images Awards & Honors On April 23,...
Simone Leigh Opens Much-Anticipated, Historic Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Becomes First Black Female Artist to Present Solo Show in U.S. Pavilion
Venice Biennale: “Simone Leigh: Sovereignty,” U.S. Pavilion, 2022 A TOWERING SCULPTURE pays homage to the ritual performances of the Baga peoples of the Guinea coast. Face jugs made by enslaved and free African Americans in the Edgefield District of South Carolina inspired a five-foot-tall vessel embellished with outsized forms that read as cowrie shells....
Robert Colescott Paintings Featured in Historic Venice Biennale Exhibition Recently Sold at Bonhams Auction House
TWO PAINTINGS WITH HISTORIC EXHIBITION HISTORIES recently sold at Bonhams auction house. “White Boy” (1989)” and “Hunchback of Notre Dame (Hommage to Victor Hugo)” (1991) by Robert Colescott (1925-2009) are important works in artist’s oeuvre. In 1997, Colescott was the first Black artist to represent the United States in a single-artist exhibition at the...
New Website Launched in Anticipation of Artist Simone Leigh’s Representation of United States at 59th Venice Biennale in 2022
A NEW WEBSITE provides a preview of Simone Leigh‘s forthcoming exhibition at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. Leigh is the first Black female artist to represent the United States with a solo show in the U.S. Pavilion at the international exhibition. Commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston in cooperation with the...
Sculptor Simone Leigh is Representing the United States at 2022 Venice Biennale
THE UNITED STATES will be represented by Simone Leigh at the 59th Venice Biennale. It’s a historic choice. Leigh is the first Black female artist ever selected to stage a solo exhibition in the American Pavilion at the prestigious international exhibition and she is the third African American artist in row chosen for the...
AFRICOBRA in Venice: Curated by Jeffreen Hayes, ‘Nation Time’ Explores the Powerful Roots and History of the Collective
FIVE LIKE-MINDED ARTISTS came together half a century ago with a common purpose. Jeff Donaldson (1932-2004), Wadsworth Jarrell, Jae Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017), and Gerald Williams met in Wadsworth’s studio on the South Side of Chicago and committed to harnessing the power of their collective artistic voice. The artists formed AFRICOBRA in 1968 and...
58th Venice Biennale: After Co-Organizing ‘Soul of a Nation,’ Zoé Whitley Was Tapped to Curate the British Pavilion
Curator Zoé Whitley THE BRITISH PAVILION at the 58th Venice Biennale features a new body of work by Irish artist Cathy Wilkes. Conceptual and figurative sculptures, a spare selection of household objects, and abstracted landscape paintings are installed in a series of six pristine galleries flooded with natural light. She’s created narrative moments and...
58th Venice Biennale: Arthur Jafa Wins Golden Lion Award, Top Artist Prize
Arthur Jafa accepts 2019 Golden Lion in Venice. AN INTERNATIONAL JURY awarded the top artist prize at the 58th Venice Biennale to Arthur Jafa. The American artist and filmmaker won the Golden Lion recognizing the best participant in “May You Live in Interesting Times,” the international exhibition curated by Ralph Rugoff. Jafa was honored...
2019 Venice Biennale Artist List is Out, Selection Includes Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Arthur Jafa, Kahlil Joseph, Julie Mehretu, Zanele Muholi, and Henry Taylor
AN INTERNATIONAL SLATE of 79 artists has been selected to participate in the main exhibition at the 58th Venice Biennale. This year’s edition of the international exhibition is titled “May You Live in Interesting Times” and is curated by Ralph Rugoff, director of the Hayward Gallery in London. The 2019 Venice Biennale is May...
Latest News in African American Art: Hank Willis Thomas Designing King Memorial, History of Racism at MICA, Ghana and South Africa at Venice Biennale & More
Rendering of “The Embrace” designed by Hank Willis Thomas with MASS Design Group. | Courtesy King Boston The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related black culture: Hank Willis Thomas Selected to Design King Memorial in Boston “The Embrace,”...
Artist and Citizen: Mark Bradford Presents His Democratic Vision at Venice Biennale
Installation view, from left, MARK BRADFORD, “Leucosia,” 2016 (mixed media on canvas); “Medusa,” 2016 (acrylic, paint, paper, rope, caulk), and “Raidne,” 2017 (mixed media on canvas). OVER THE PAST YEAR, Mark Bradford has been ruminating. Chosen in April 2016 to represent the United States at the 57th Venice Biennale, the Los Angeles artist has...
2017 Venice Biennale List Includes African American Artists Sam Gilliam, Senga Nengudi, and McArthur Binion
Chicago-based McArthur Binion is among the artists invited to participate in the 57th Venice Biennial. HOW TIME FLIES. It certainly doesn’t seem like two years has elapsed since Nigerian-born Okwui Enwezor’s historic turn as artistic director of the 2015 Venice Biennale and “All the World’s Futures” featured more than 35 black artists, including Glenn...
Mark Bradford Has Been Chosen to Represent United States at 2017 Venice Biennale
CRITICALLY RECOGNIZED ARTIST Mark Bradford will represent the United States at the 57th Venice Biennale next year. Bradford creates large-scale, abstract paintings, mixed-media works that explore a range of social justice issues. He will create a new site-specific installation for the U.S. Pavilion. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs...
Okwui Enwezor’s Vision for Venice Biennale is Right Up Front
Glenn Ligon and Oscar Murillo for “All the World’s Futures” curated by Okwui Enwezor #VeniceBiennale A photo posted by Artforum (@artforum) on May 5, 2015 at 3:49am PDT THE 56th VENICE BIENNALE officially opens to the public on May 9 and black artists are at the forefront. The entrance to the Central Pavilion...
New Year, New Art: What to Look Forward to in 2015
WITH A NEW YEAR UNDERWAY and a promising selection of new books, exhibitions and events on the horizon, here is what is on my radar, what I am most looking forward to in 2015: “Represent: 200 Years of African American Art,” a sweeping new exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Jan. 10 – April...
