We are excited about these amazing contemporary artists who contribute to visual arts in the United States and
around the world. Make sure to visit their websites to learn more about their work.
(Each original image shown on this page has copyright protection and is displayed for educational purposes only.
Visit each artist's website to learn more about and/or purchase their work.)
around the world. Make sure to visit their websites to learn more about their work.
(Each original image shown on this page has copyright protection and is displayed for educational purposes only.
Visit each artist's website to learn more about and/or purchase their work.)
Simone Leigh
Simone Leigh’s towering bronze sculpture “Brick House” now graces Penn’s campus near 34th and Walnut Streets. Photo by Eric Sucar
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Over the past two decades, Simone Leigh (b. 1967, Chicago, IL) has created an expansive body of work in sculpture, video, and performance that centers Black femme interiority. Inflected by Black feminist theory, Leigh’s practice intervenes imaginatively to fill gaps in the historical record by proposing new hybridities.
(excerpted from https://simoneleighvenice2022.org/simone-leigh/) |
Paul Goodnight
Manscape by
Paul Goodnight
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At an early age Paul Goodnight utilized artistic expression as a means of communications. From his young life where he steadily ran into trouble avoiding school and authority to his traumatic experience in Vietnam when he lost his ability to speak, art has been his saving grace. Determined to succeed, he enrolled in English Courses at Roxbury Community College and eventually earned a Bachelor's Degree from Massachusetts College of Art in 1976. (excepted from www.itsablackthang.com)
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Latoya M. Hobbs
Latoya M. Hobbs,
and then....she realized she was enough Acrylic, relief carving, and collage on wood panel 48" X 36" 2019
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LaToya M. Hobbs is a native of North Little Rock, AR and currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD. She received her BA in Studio Art with an emphasis in Painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and MFA in Printmaking from Purdue University. LaToya’s work deals with figurative imagery that addresses the ideas of beauty and cultural identity while reexamining the traditional triadic artist, model, viewer, relationship. (excerpted from www.latoyamhobbs.com)
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Derrick Adams
Derrick Adams, You Might Get By But You Won't Get Far (Jasper), 2015, Mixed Media Collage on Paper, 24" x 72"
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Derrick Adams is a Baltimore-born, Brooklyn, New York-based artist whose critically admired work spans painting, collage, sculpture, performance, video, and sound installations. His multidisciplinary practice engages the ways in which individuals’ ideals, aspirations, and personae become attached to specific objects, colors, textures, symbols, and ideologies. His work probes the influence of popular culture on the formation of self-image, and the relationship between man and monument as they coexist and embody one another. Adams is also deeply immersed in questions of how African American experiences intersect with art history, American iconography, and consumerism..... (excerpted from the artist's website, www.derrickadams.com)
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Evita Tezano
Face Art by Evita Tezano
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"... Her works of art consist of collages with cubism influences. Her bold use of color, texture and shape are the core of her collages. Inspired by images that she sees in her sleep, Evita translates these visions through mixed media, combining handmade papers, acrylic paints and found objects. Pulling from experiences and children’s stories, she creates whimsical images that provoke laughter, thought and help to enrich the soul...." (excerpted from her website. www.evitatezano.com)
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Glenn Ligon
Glenn Ligon, Figure #20, 2009, Acrylic, Silkscreen, Coaldust on Canvas
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Glenn Ligon (b. 1960) is an artist living and working in New York. Through his work he pursues an incisive exploration of American history, literature, and society across a body of work that builds critically on the legacies of modern painting and more recent conceptual art. He is best known for his text-based paintings, made since the late 1980s, which draw on the writings and speech of diverse figures including Jean Genet, Zora Neale Hurston, Gertrude Stein and Richard Pryor....(excerpted from his website)
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Bisa Butler
Bisa Butler,
The Safety Patrol, 2018
Quilted and appliquéd cotton, wool and chiffon
82 × 90 in
208.3 × 228.6 cm
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"The year 2020 was shaping up to be a watershed moment in the career of New Jersey-born Brooklyn-based quilt artist Bisa Butler. Having been a finalist for the Museum of Arts and Design’s prestigious Burke Prize in 2019, Butler’s quilted portrait of Wangar Maathai, an environmental and women’s rights activist who was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, was selected to be a Time Magazine cover for their special double issue honoring 100 women of the year in 2020....' (Excerpt from https://www.artandobject.com/news/bisa-butler-having-moment )
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Theaster Gates
"Flag 2012" by Theaster Gates, composed of decommissioned fire hoses
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Theaster Gates lives and works in Chicago. Gates creates work that focuses on space theory and land development, sculpture and performance. Drawing on his interest and training in urban planning and preservation, Gates redeems spaces that have been left behind. Known for his recirculation of art-world capital, Gates creates work that focuses on the possibility of the “life within things.” Gates smartly upturns art values, land values, and human values. In all aspects of his work, he contends with the notion of Black space as a formal exercise – one defined by collective desire, artistic agency, and the tactics of a pragmatist.... (excerpt from https://www.theastergates.com/about)
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Amy Sherald
MIchelle Obama by Amy Sherald
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Amy Sherald (American b. Columbus, GA 1973, lives Baltimore) received her MFA in Painting from Maryland Institute College of Art (2004) and BA in Painting from Clark-Atlanta University (1997), and was a Spelman College International Artist-in-Residence in Portobelo, Panama (1997). In 2016, Sherald was the first woman to win the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition grand prize; an accompanying exhibition, The Outwin 2016, has been on tour since 2016 and opened at the Kemper Museum, Kansas City, MO in October 2017..... (excerpt from www.amysherald.com )
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Kerry James Marshall
KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, Untitled, 2017, acrylic on pvc panel, 24 1/2 x 21 3/4 x 3 7/8 inches
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Kerry James Marshall uses painting, sculptural installations, collage, video, and photography to comment on the history of black identity both in the United States and in Western art. He is well known for paintings that focus on black subjects historically excluded from the artistic canon, and has explored issues of race and history through imagery ranging from abstraction to comics. Marshall said in a 2012 interview with Art + Auction that “it is possible to transcend what is perceived to be the limitations of a race-conscious kind of work. It is a limitation only if you accept someone else’s foreclosure from the outside. If you plumb the depths yourself, you can exercise a good deal of creative flexibility. You are limited only by your ability to imagine possibilities.” (Excerpt from https://www.jackshainman.com/artists/kerryjames-marshall/ )
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Lorna Simpson
Lorna Simpson, “Dividing Lines,” 1989, Dye diffusion color prints and engraved plastic plaques, 57 × 71 × 1 in. overall, The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of halley k harrisburg and Michael Rosenfeld, New York 2007.02
Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Photo: Sasha J. Mendez, © Lorna Simpson
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"Lorna Simpson received her BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and her MFA from the University of California, San Diego. When Lorna Simpson emerged from the graduate program at San Diego in 1985, she was already considered a pioneer of conceptual photography. Feeling a strong need to re-examine and re-define photographic practice for contemporary relevance, Simpson was producing work that engaged the conceptual vocabulary of the time by creating exquisitely crafted documents that are as clean and spare as the closed, cyclic systems of meaning they produce. Her initial body of work alone helped to incite a significant shift in the view of the photographic art’s transience and malleability." (excerpt from https://lsimpsonstudio.com/bio)
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Kevin "Wak" Williams
Still I Rise,
WAK – Kevin A. Williams,
Signed and Numbered Offset Lithograph
Edition 1500
Size: 30″ x 24″ Approx
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"Kevin A. Williams is an artist on a mission, but his is no solo trip: He wants to take you on the journey, too. His destination is a place where more African-Americans will appreciate, own and even create fine art that honors their rich heritage and hope filled destiny. So far, tens of thousands of people have willingly followed Williams to that vista – including talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, and actor comedian Bernie Mac. From celebrity homes to small businesses, corporate offices and women’s spas, Williams’ original and lithograph artwork hangs from coast to coast"
(Excerpt from http://www.wak-art.com ) |
Latoya Ruby Frazier
LaToya Ruby Frazier from “The Notion of Family” (Aperture, 2014)
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LaToya Ruby Frazier (b. 1982, Braddock, Pennsylvania) received her BFA in applied media arts from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (2004) and her MFA in art photography from Syracuse University (2007). She also studied under the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program (2010–2011) and was the Guna S. Mundheim Fellow for visual arts at the American Academy in Berlin (2013–2014). Frazier works in photography, video and performance to build visual archives that address industrialism, rustbelt revitalization, environmental justice, healthcare inequity, family and communal history. (Excerpt from www.latoyarubyfrazier.com) |
David Driskell
"Old Sofa" by David Driskell, Gouche on Encaustic Paper, 11"x 14"
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"One of the world's leading authorities on the subject of African American Art, Prof. David C. Driskell is highly regarded as both an artist and a scholar. Born in 1931 in Eatonton, Georgia, David C. Driskell grew up in North Carolina and completed the art program at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine, in 1953 . He received an undergraduate degree in art from Howard University in 1955 and an M.F.A. from Catholic University of America in 1962."
(excerpt from www.driskellcenter.umd.edu) Visit the website to learn more about this important artist. |
Mikalene Thomas
"Din, Une Tre Belle Negrese #2" by MIckalene Thomas
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NEW YORK-BASED ARTIST MICKALENE THOMAS IS BEST KNOWN FOR HER ELABORATE PAINTINGS COMPOSED OF RHINESTONES, ACRYLIC AND ENAMEL. THOMAS INTRODUCES A COMPLEX VISION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WOMAN AND EXPANDS COMMON DEFINITIONS OF BEAUTY. HER WORK STEMS FROM HER LONG STUDY OF ART HISTORY AND THE CLASSICAL GENRES OF PORTRAITURE, LANDSCAPE, AND STILL LIFE. (excerpt from www.mickalenethomas.com)
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Johnathan Green
"From Africa to Gullah II" by Jonathan Green
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Jonathan Green - 1955 - Noted art critics and reviewers consider Jonathan Green one of the most important painters of the southern experience. His work, which has been exhibited in major venues nationally and internationally, reflects an intrinsic sense of history and place.
(excerpt from www.jonathangreenstudios.com) |
Kesha Bruce
Kesha Bruce, TOTEM FOR A DANCING GIRL, Mixed-Media Collage on paper. 10.25 x 9.5 inches. (26 x 24 cm.)
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"Kesha Bruce creates richly textured and visually
complex artworks that explore the connections between memory, personal mythology, and magical- spiritual belief." (excerpt from www.keshabruce.com) |
Cbabi Bayoc
"One Set" by Cbabi Bayoc
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Cbabi (pronounced Kuh-bob-bi) Bayoc is an artist who has always known, and lived, his calling: creating art which reflects his love of music and family. This was in fact the reason he changed his name in 1997 from Clifford Miskell to Cbabi Bayoc. He wanted a name that when said always sent him a reminder of his purpose in life..... (excerpt from www.cbabibayoc.com)
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Deborah Shedrick
"Umbrella Series I" by Deborah Shedrick
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"I was born an artist; creating is my source of being and adds meaning to my existence. Art has given me a gift of living in balance and harmony; I live and love art. I welcome you to an imagination of vibrant colors and texture; my style is my own. As a self-taught artist, I spend countless hours exploring new ways to communicate....." (excerpt from www.dshedrick.com)
Learn more about her beautiful work by visiting her website today. |
Charly Palmer
"Little Rock Nine-50 Years" by Charly Palmer
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"Palmer has brought to his complex pictorial compositions a technique and style that is unique and readily identifiable. He has in the recent past created work under the assumed name “Carlos”, his alter ego. This allowed him, he says, the freedom to experiment, be spontaneous, and have fun with his art. The result is a body of work that is less controlled and more abstract and primal......Charly Palmer studied art and design at the American Academy of Art and the School of the Art Institute, both in Chicago, and has taught design and illustration at the college level. " (excerpt from www.charlypalmer.com/artist-bio )
Visit his website to learn more about this extraordinary artist! |
Vanessa Brantley-Newton
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Award winning artist, author and singer, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, uses her art to celebrate diversity and all cultures. Her vibrant personality is evident in the beautiful illustrations she has created for numerous books, greeting cards and many other products. Learn more about this amazing artist by visiting her website: www.oohlaladesignstudio.blogspot.com
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Kehinde Wiley
"Anthony of Padua" by Kehinde Wiley
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"Los Angeles native and New York based visual artist, Kehinde Wiley has firmly situated himself within art history’s portrait painting tradition. As a contemporary descendent of a long line of portraitists, including Reynolds, Gainsborough, Titian, Ingres, among others, Wiley, engages the signs and visual rhetoric of the heroic, powerful, majestic and the sublime in his representation of urban, black and brown men found throughout the world."
(excerpt from http://www.kehindewiley.com ) Visit his website to learn more about this prolific artist. |
Synthia Saint James
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"SAINT JAMES, a self-taught artist and popular speaker, credits the creator and her ancestry (which includes African American, Native American, Haitian and German Jew) for her artistic gifts."
(excerpt from http://www.synthiasaintjames.com/bio.html ) Visit her website today to learn more about this gifted artist. |
Sydney Carter
"Fascination" by Sidney Carter
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"Sidney Carter has been painting professionally for more than 20 years. His free and vibrant use of color continues to wow guests and collectors from all over the world. Carter's themes and subjects delight across diverse groups. .... Sidney Carter's art genres and styles include:
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Monique Luck
"The One in the Middle" 2010 by Monique Luck
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"Soulful figures textured with emotion emerge, revealing colorful, lyrical stories moving fluidly across canvas. Luck models the features of figures & natural forms using fragments of found paper. “As I assemble a collage, I often wish I could rearrange pieces of my life as I do pieces of colored paper.” she explains. “Each day I am reminded that life choices are not as easily moved.” Luck is an award winning artist & muralist. She has exhibited her work frequently at galleries & museums across the US......." (excerpt from www.moniqueluckart.com/about) |
Kadir Nelson
Mandela (Cover Art), 2013, Written and Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
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" Kadir Nelson is an award-winning American artist whose works have been exhibited in major national and international publications, institutions, art galleries, and museums. Nelson earned a Bachelor’s degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and has since created paintings for a host of distinguished clients...." (excerpt from www.kadirnelson.com/artist-biography)
Visit his website to learn more about this phenomenal artist. |
Tamara Natalie Madden
"Vanquisher" by Tamara Natalie Madden
2012 |
Inspirational artist, Tamara Natalie Madden, creates beautifully powerful portraits through the mediums of paint and photography. Named as one of The Grios' Top 40 artists to watch for 2014, she has participated in group and solo shows around the United States. You can see more of her amazing work by visiting www.tamaranataliemadden.com .
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Michael Massenburg
"Lashawn Lives" by Michael Massenburg
30 x 40, Mixed Media Drawing and Painting |
Michael Massenburg is a talented teaching artist based in California. His work explores a variety of issues including race, gender, class and natural elements. Michael's work can be seen around the United States and abroad. Learn more about this wonderful artist by visiting his website. www.michaelmassenburg.com
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April Harrison
"Coffee Cuzins" by April Harrison
12" x 12" |
Prolific artist, April Harrison, creates beautiful multi-media portraits of serenely spiritual figures. A self-taught artist, she has been creating art for over 20 years. Her work has been displayed in multiple publications and exhibitions around the United States. You can learn more about April by visiting her website, www.aprilsonggallery.com .
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Najee Dorsey
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Fine artist, Najee Dorsey is the founder of www.blackartinamerica.com. BAIA is the leading on-line social network for African-American artists. His original art work was recently featured on the cover of Art Voices magazine. Mr. Dorsey has an upcoming solo show entitled, Leaving Mississippi: Reflections on Heroes and Folklore, at the Columbus Museum opening on August 21, 2014. Learn more about this amazing artist by visiting his website: www.najeedorsey.com
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Angie Hutcherson
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We are excited to present, talented artist, Angie Hutcherson. She is a wonderful artist who creates beautifully vibrant illustrations, abstract paintings and face paintings. Her work is in collections throughout the United States. Learn more about her by visiting: www.angiehutcherson.com
"Bird in Paradise" by Angie Hutcherson
Acrylic on Canvas, 16" x 20" |