Friday, April 25, 2008

A rarity coming up

Aaron DouglasAaron Douglas: African American Modernist presents "the first nationally touring retrospective of Aaron Douglas (1899-1979), one of the most influential visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance. This exhibition brings together more than 80 rarely seen works by the artist, including paintings, prints, drawings and illustrations."

The show opens at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC on May 9, and runs through August 3, 2008.

I really hate the segregation of art by race or ethnicity, but once in a while something stands out so grossly out of synch that it must be pointed out.

This coming show is also a rarity for the DC area museums: an exhibition by a black artist.

Example: As far as I know the National Gallery has only hosted one exhibition in its entire history by a black artist, in this case African American artist Romare Bearden.

The Corcoran has done a little better, most recently hosting Sam Gilliam's first retrospective. Jonathan Binstock, then the Corcoran curator, had done his thesis on Gilliam, so I am sure that this helped get this DC art star a long overdue museum show in his own city. And the Phillips Collection certainly has paid attention to my old professor Jacob Lawrence with a couple of traveling exhibitions.

But some black artists are way overdue for the kind of exposure that an NGA show can afford an artist. My first suggestion is Wifredo Lam.

Any others? Feel free to comment.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been waiting for this exhibit for over 6 months!

Off the top of my head - 1st suggestion for a NGA show would be John Biggers, his paintings and murals are awesome. I feel he is so underrated. My second would be Faith Ringgold. I would also love to see one of the museums host one of just Bettye Saars or a combination of Bettye Saars and her two daughters who are professional artists as well. Too many to name.

Lenny said...

Ooooh... Biggers is a good choice...

anacostia_poet said...

Horace Pippen, Elizabeth Catlett, William Edmondson, Renee Stout, Beauford Delaney, definitely Faith Ringgold... the national museum of women in the arts did a nice show of Nellie Mae Rowe some years ago

Lenny said...

All great choices, but I still think that Lam trumps them all historically and internationally...

Anonymous said...

I went to a conversation between Ruth Fine and Martin Puryear (with fellow sculptor friends Tim Tate and Mike Sirvet) last month at the Nat'l Gallery East Wing. Ruth Fine announced that the National Gallery is planning a summer show of Martin Puryear's work. He will be the 1st sculptor shown simultaneously in the East and West Wing; that he is also Black and a local artist must also be a 1st!

Lenny said...

That's right!

The stars of art must have reached some once-in-a-1000-years alignment for that to happen!