A Journey Through Abstract Art: African American Perspectives

The Rise of Black Abstraction

The history of Black artists working in abstraction is inseparable from the history of modern and contemporary art. Black Abstractionists⁚ From Then til Now‚ curated by Dexter Wimberly focuses on Black abstract artists spanning multiple generations‚ starting in the 1960s with Alma Thomas and ending with young artists working today‚ such as Michaela Yearwood-Dan and Vaughn Spann.

Challenging Conventions and Contexts

The conception of a new movement typically was born as a counter-response to previous styles. Like many of their predecessors who questioned traditional artistic processes of their time‚ abstract artists of the 1940s moved away from accepted conventions in both subject matter and technique. Growing up in Jim Crow Alabama‚ Whitten was barred from the public library but‚ by 1960‚ he was in New York‚ studying art at Cooper Union. The Abstract Expressionist Norman Lewis (a Black American ... The story of abstraction in America has long featured an overwhelmingly white cast of characters‚ but in recent decades‚ that has finally started to change. In 1991‚ the Kenkeleba Gallery in New York presented the landmark exhibition The Search for Freedom⁚ African American... The contributions of African American artists to the inventions of abstract painting have historically been overlooked‚ or else fraught with the kind of questions faced by Jones. These nine African American abstract artists are influential to me for the confidence with which they have dedicated themselves to moving the field of abstract art forward.

Beyond Representation⁚ A Deeper Exploration of Identity

A certain tradition of Black activism also considered abstract art too ingratiating to mainstream Euro- American tastes‚ too mute on the pressing realities of racism.4 The issue concerning authenticity and the Black experience is generally discussed in relation to the Black Arts Movement and its preference for images that contested the pervasive vilification‚ ridicule‚ and disparagement of African... The formal‚ abstract elements nonetheless keep asserting themselves into the forefront-a subtle expression‚ and rejection‚ of the essential conflict every African American abstract artist faces. The art that has become most associated with African-American art is figuration‚ where a discernible‚ realistic subject is rendered in the work. Against this backdrop‚ some of the most compelling abstract painting today is coming from Black artists. Tariku Shiferaw‚ Cranes in the Sky (Solange)‚ 2020. Photo courtesy of Galerie Lelong amp; Co.‚ New York. Tariku Shiferaw was born in Addis Ababa‚ Ethiopia‚ and currently lives and works in New York City. Utilizing a variety of materials‚ such ... Donald Judd didnt have to explain himself. Why do I have to? asks Jennie C. Jones‚ an African American abstract painter who has grappled with the issue of how her work can or should reflect her race.

Influential Artists and Their Impact

In the second half of the 20th century‚ he became the foremost African-American abstract sculptor and artist of public sculpture. Hunt‚ the descendant of enslaved people brought from West Africa ... When African American artist Norman Lewis exhibited Cathedral 1950 in the United ... he introduced Harlems architecture and the vivid formal vocabulary of New Yorks abstract expressionist artists to ... In 1991‚ the Kenkeleba Gallery in New York presented the landmark exhibition The Search for Freedom⁚ African American Abstract Painting 1945-1975‚ which featured 35 artists. Fifteen years later‚ art historian Kellie Jones curated Energy/Experimentation: Black Artists and Abstraction 1964-1980 at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Black art is going through a figurative painting renaissance as we look at the number of contemporary artists painting portraits. But abstract artists‚ Julie Mehretu and Mark Bradford‚ are performing at the top of the artworld. In 2019‚ Baltimore Museum of Art held an exhibition of black abstract artists‚ including work by Edward Clark‚ Kevin ... Abstract Expressions⁚ abstract African American art provides a contemporary and symbolic approach‚ inviting viewers to interpret and connect with the artwork on a personal level....

The Legacy and Future of Black Abstract Art

On view September 29‚ 2019‚ through January 19‚ 2020‚ Generations explores the multifaceted power of abstract art as experimental practice‚ personal exploration‚ and profound political choice for decades of black artists. The exhibition features more than 70 paintings‚ sculptures‚ and mixed-media installations by such notable artists as Kevin ... We are revisiting practices of seminal Black abstract artists whose works are finally getting their due in the global art market. A new rising class of artists exploring abstraction in painting has caught our attention. Writer Kendra Walker reveals five Black abstract artists to watch. Exploring innovative abstract techniques employed by Black aritsts who have greately contributed to the movement⁚ from Alma Thomas to Jack Whitten. Meet the new rising class of Black artists exploring abstraction in painting that has caught our attention.

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