An authoritative guide to one of the world s most important collections of African-American art, with works by artists from Romare Bearden to Kehinde Wiley.
An authoritative guide to one of the world's most important collections of African-American art, with works by artists from Romare Bearden to Kehinde Wiley.
The artists featured in Black Refractions, including Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Nari Ward, Norman Lewis, Wangechi Mutu, and Lorna Simpson, are drawn from the renowned collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem. Through exhibitions, public programs, artist residencies, and bold acquisitions, this pioneering institution has served as a nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally, and internationally since its founding in 1968. Rather than aim to construct a single history of "black art," Black Refractions emphasizes a plurality of narratives and approaches, traced through 125 works in all media from the 1930s to the present.
An essay by Connie Choi and entries by Eliza A. Butler, Akili Tommasino, Taylor Aldridge, Larry Ossei Mensah, Daniela Fifi , and other luminaries contextualize the works and provide detailed commentary. A dialogue between Thelma Golden, Connie Choi, and Kellie Jones draws out themes and challenges in collecting and exhibiting modern and contemporary art by artists of African descent. More than a document of a particular institution's trailblazing path, or catalytic role in the development of American appreciation for art of the African diaspora, this volume is a compendium of a vital art tradition.
"Comprised of over one hundred works by nearly eighty artists across all media dating from the 1920s to the present, Black Refractions surverys close to a century of creative achievements by artists of African descent and is the first traveling exhibition in twenty-five years to reveal the breadth and expansive growth of the Studio Museum's permanent collection." — ARTFIXDAILY.com
"The richly illustrated volume includes essays by Connie H. Choi and Kellie Jones; entries by a range of writers, curators and scholars (among them Lauren Haynes, Ashley James, Oluremi C. Onabanjo, Larry Ossei-Mensah and Hallie Ringle) who contextualize the works and provide detailed commentary; and a conversation among Choi, Thelma Golden, and Jones that draws out themes and challenges in collecting and exhibiting modern and contemporary art by artists of African descent." —CHARLESTON CHRONICLE
"The touring exhibition
Black Refractions is a comprehensive introduction into the broad repertoire of the collection at the Studio Museum of Harlem. From Malick Sidibe to Kerry James Marshall to the exquisite Barkley Hendrick’s Lawdy Mama featured on the book cover, the scale of the show is vast, yet not unwieldy. The accompanying book published by Rizzoli offers a notable dive into the museum’s history and status as one of the most exciting museums in today’s American artistic landscape." —TEETH MAGAZINE
