Artist from NJ whose works depict Black culture opening solo exhibit at SoHo gallery

Tyler Ballon, a young artist from Jersey City, New Jersey who paints powerful works depicting Black culture is about to open his first solo exhibit in Manhattan this weekend. The exhibit is titled Tyler Ballon: The House I Live In. The exhibit will run from November 13, 2021–January 8, 2022 and is located at 76 Grand Street, New York.

The collection of Tyler Ballon's works is at the Jeffrey Deitch gallery in SoHo, and the 25-year-old says his paintings are meant to counter the negative narrative in which he feels the African American community is often trapped.

For more information about the exhibit click here: https://deitch.com/new-york/exhibitions/tyler-ballon-the-house-i-live-in.

National Cathedral Names Artist, Kerry James Marshall To Replace Confederate Windows With Racial Justice Imagery

Washington National Cathedral announced that it will replace its former stained-glass windows featuring Confederate iconography, removed in 2017, with racial-justice themed windows created by world-renowned artist Kerry James Marshall, described by The New Yorker as “a virtuoso of landscape, portraiture, still-life, history painting, and other genres of the Western canon.”

The Cathedral’s commission represents Marshall’s first time working with stained-glass as a medium, and the windows are expected to be his first permanent public exhibition anywhere in the country.

The Cathedral removed windows featuring Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson – which were located along the southern face of its nave, or its main worship space – in September 2017, following the white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the summer of 2020, amid the historic movement for racial justice following the police killing of George Floyd, the Cathedral began collaborating with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) to plan the public exhibition of the Robert E. Lee window.

“For nearly 70 years, these windows and their Confederate imagery told an incomplete story; they celebrated two generals, but they did nothing to address the reality and painful legacy of America’s original sin of slavery and racism. They represented a false narrative of what America once was and left out the painful truth of our history,” said The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral. “We’re excited to share a new and more complete story, to tell the truth about our past and to lift up who we aspire to be as a nation.”

Hollerith continues, “We are thrilled that Kerry James Marshall has agreed to lend his immense talents and creative vision to this important project. He is one of the greatest artists of our time, and we are honored to add his artistic legacy to the iconography of this Cathedral. To complement Mr. Marshall’s work, we welcome the words of Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, one of America’s great poets and a native Washingtonian, whose incredible ability to capture the pain of yesterday and the promise of tomorrow will be felt in our house of prayer through her inscribed words.”

Marshall—the artist and professor whose paintings depicting Black life in America have been sold, viewed, and showcased across the world for decades—will design the stained-glass windows that will replace the Lee/Jackson windows. His new windows will reflect the Cathedral’s stated desire for new windows that “capture both darkness and light, both the pain of yesterday and the promise of tomorrow, as well as the quiet and exemplary dignity of the African American struggle for justice and equality and the indelible and progressive impact it has had on American society.” Marshall has taught painting at the University of Illinois at Chicago and has been named to TIME’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

“This project is not just a job – I don’t need the work – or only a piece of art. It’s kind of a calling, and a real honor to be asked,” said artist Kerry James Marshall. “The themes that the Cathedral committee articulated set a great challenge for me as an artist and as a Black American man. The goal is to make truly meaningful additions to an already rich and magnificent institution, to make the changes they have embraced truly worth the effort.”

Kymberly Pinder becomes the First African-American Woman to Lead the Yale School of Art

Kymberly Pinder has been named dean of the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, one of the country’s top M.F.A. programmes. In the school’s 150-year history, she will be the first woman of color and the second woman to occupy the position. Pinder will take over as dean on July 1st, succeeding Marta Kuzma, who was appointed to the position in 2016.

Pinder is a Yale graduate who earned her Ph.D. in art history from the university in 1995. She was previously the provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), where she is now interim president.

Pinder was previously dean of the University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts and chair of the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as director of the graduate programme.

Pinder is a well-known expert on muralism and public art, and her work on race and representation is well-known. Painting the Gospel: Black Public Art and Religion in Chicago, which she published in 2016, looks at how pictures of Black people made by Black artists have strengthened Chicago communities.

Race-ing Art History: Critical Readings in Race and Art History, an anthology she produced in 2002, is regarded as groundbreaking in its examination of racial representation in art history. Okwui Enwezor, Linda Nochlin, Bell Hooks, Cornel West, Rasheed Araeen, Anna C. Chave, and others contributed articles to the collection.

The Art Institute of Chicago names Denise Gardner new board chair

The Art Institute of Chicago on Tuesday elected Chicago philanthropist and art collector Denise Gardner as its next board chair, beginning in November.

A 15-year trustee of the museum, Gardner will be the first African-American and first woman leader of the governing body for the museum and the School of the Art Institute. It is believed that she will be the first Black woman to head the board of a major U.S. art museum, although such demographics are hard to come by.

“I knew I was the first at the Art Institute. I didn’t know I was the first in the nation. Wow,” said the beauty products entrepreneur, 66. “I feel a little extra pressure to succeed. But I don’t have a problem with that. I welcome that. And I enjoy exceeding people’s expectations.”

“I’m looking forward to helping the museum move forward to becoming even more of a dynamic and leading cultural gathering place and institution in the city.”

Gardner has been a vice chair on the board for the past five years and was a clear choice as his successor, said Robert M. Levy, the current board chair.

“She’s been so active with the museum and the school for many years so we knew how good she was and how committed to who we are,” Levy said. “She has exactly the right resume, which is business experience, involvement with the school, substantial involvement with the museum and art. She and her husband, Gary, are noted collectors.”

For her part, Gardner was quick to praise women who have served on boards before her, particularly Jetta Jones, the Art Institute’s first Black woman trustee. Serving from 1995 to 2006, Jones, who died Friday in Los Angeles at age 95, brought Gardner into contact and then deep involvement with the museum, Gardner said.

“I learned so much from watching her, watching how she managed progress and change at the board level at the Art Institute,” Gardner said. “And so I think about her and people like her. She certainly could have been chair.”

[SOURCE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE]

Smithsonian moves Michelle Obama portrait due to 'high volume of visitors'

Michelle Obama was so popular she needed more space.

The distinctive Amy Sherald painting of the former first lady, unveiled at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery last month, has relocated to a different part of the museum due to demand.

"We're always changing things up here. Due to the high volume of visitors, we've relocated Michelle Obama's portrait to the 3rd floor in our 20th-Century Americans galleries for a more spacious viewing experience," the National Portrait Gallery tweeted.

The museum has been inundated with visitors since the portraits of the Obamas were unveiled; 176,700 people visited the gallery in February 2018, its biggest month in three years, per Smithsonian Institution data. Last weekend, nearly 45,000 visitors stopped by from Thursday to Sunday.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Smithsonian Appoints Curator and Archivist for African-American Art

Erin J. Gilbert

The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art has named two new appointees to positions related to African-American art: Erin J. Gilbert as curator of African-American manuscripts and Rayna Andrews as archivist for the institution’s African American Collecting Initiative.

Gilbert, an independent curator with experience in various departments of Chicago’s Kruger Gallery and the Art Institute of Chicago as well as the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York, will be charged with developing “a strategy for substantially increasing the collections of papers of and about African-American artists and will travel nationally to acquire collections,” according to an announcement.

Andrews, previously an archivist at the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College, will catalogue the collection and new acquisitions. Together, work by

Rayna Andrews

Gilbert and Andrews “will result in the creation of online finding aids for scores of the Archives’ collections on African American art,” the Smithsonian’s statement said. “These finding aids will greatly increase access and usability of the collections and will serve as critical resources for those performing research in the field.”

The three-year African American Collecting Initiative was launched last year with a $575,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to “build upon the Archives’ existing collections by and about African American artists.”

Both positions add to an Archives of American Art initiative that was founded in 1954.

[SOURCE: ARTNEWS]

Do you like the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama?

The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery unveiled the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama. Barack Obama's portrait was created by Kehinde Wiley, a black artist best known for his vibrant, large-scale paintings of African Americans. Michelle Obama's portrait was created by Amy Sherald, the winner of the Portrait Gallery's 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Some people like them while others hate them. What do you think?

National Portrait Gallery Announces Artists Commissioned to Paint Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery announced today that it has commissioned the museum’s official portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Artist Kehinde Wiley—best known for his vibrant, large-scale paintings of African Americans—will create the portrait of President Obama. Amy Sherald, first-prize winner of the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, has been chosen to paint Mrs. Obama. The two portraits will be unveiled at the museum in early 2018 and will be added to the Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection.

Over the course of his career, Wiley (b. Los Angeles, 1977), whom President Obama selected, has frequently portrayed young African American men wearing the latest in hip-hop street fashion. His rich, highly saturated color palette and his use of decorative patterns complement his realistic, yet expressive, likenesses. The theatrical poses and props Wiley assigns to his subjects make references to iconic portraits of powerful figures by Western artists.

Sherald (b. Columbus, Ga., 1973), who is based in Baltimore, was selected by Mrs. Obama to paint her portrait. Sherald challenges stereotypes and probes notions of identity through her life-size paintings of African Americans. Out of more than 2,500 entries, Sherald’s oil painting “Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)” won first place in the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Along with the exhibition that showcases all of the winning portraits, the first-place prize includes the opportunity to create a portrait of a living individual for the museum’s permanent collection.

“The Portrait Gallery is absolutely delighted that Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald have agreed to create the official portraits of our former President and First Lady,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “Both have achieved enormous success as artists, but even more, they make art that reflects the power and potential of portraiture in the 21st century.”

At the end of each presidency, the museum partners with the White House to commission one official portrait of the President and one of his spouse. There are two sets of official portraits: one for the White House and one for the National Portrait Gallery. The museum began to commission Presidents’ portraits with George H.W. Bush.

The Portrait Gallery is continuing to raise private funds for the two commissioned portraits, the unveiling event, educational programs and an enhanced website. The museum is the only place outside the White House where visitors can view a complete collection of presidential portraits.

This past March, the Portrait Gallery installed a portrait diptych of President Obama by Chuck Close (2013) as part of the temporary “America’s Presidents” installation, which was on view until the updated version of the exhibition opened in September. The photographs by Close will remain on view until Obama’s official painted portrait is installed.

National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story.

The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Connect with the museum at its website (npg.si.edu), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTubeand the museum’s blog.

Black artist, Norman Lewis and his work finally getting their due

35 years after his death the work of Norman Lewis, an African American artist is enjoying a critical reappraisal after racism cost him the recognition he should have received. His works which may have sold for $20,000 when he was alive are now going for anywhere between $250,000 and $800,000. Learn more about the man and his art below.

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Maya Angelou's art collection sells for nearly $1.3 million

The art collection of celebrated writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou sold for nearly $1.3 million on Tuesday.

A painted story quilt that hung in Angelou's Harlem home and was commissioned by Oprah Winfrey for Angelou's 61st birthday brought $461,000 at the Swann Galleries sale.

"Maya's Quilt of Life" by African-American artist Faith Ringgold depicts Angelou surrounded by flowers along with excerpts from some of her writings. The acrylic on canvas with a pieced fabric border had a pre-sale estimate of $150,000 to $250,000.

The nearly 50 artworks were consigned to the auction house's African-American Fine Art Department by Angelou's estate.

Read more: Maya Angelou's art collection sells for nearly $1.3 million

Maya Angelou's art collection is headed to NY auction

The art collection of celebrated writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is heading to a New York City auction this month.

Among the highlights of the Sept. 15 Swann Galleries sale is a painted story quilt that hung in Angelou's Harlem home.

It's a work by African-American artist Faith Ringgold titled "Maya's Quilt of Life." It was commissioned by Oprah Winfrey for Angelou's 69th birthday in 1989.

It depicts Angelou surrounded by flowers and excerpts from some of her writings. It's an acrylic on canvas with pieced fabric border that's expected to bring $150,000 to $250,000.

The nearly 50 works are being offered for sale by Angelou's estate. They're expected to fetch $400,000 to $640,000.

[SOURCE]