Stay informed about the latest developments in the world of art and related culture with the Latest News in Black Art
KELLY SINNAPAH MARY, Installation view of “Notebook of No Return: Memories (Mama),” 2022 (triptych, acrylic on canvas, 99 x 77.5 inches each, three total), “everything slackens in a wreck.” Shown, Ford Foundation Gallery, New York, N.Y. (2022). | © Kelly Sinnapah Mary, Courtesy the artist
REPRESENTATION
Kelly Sinnapah Mary Joins James Cohan
James Cohan has announced that they are now representing Kelly Sinnapah Mary, known for her work in painting, sculpture, and installations. Her art delves into the intricate connections between folklore, literature, heritage, history, and the natural world. Sinnapah Mary’s pieces are deeply influenced by the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, where she is from, and her evolving exploration of her ancestral roots. She is currently part of the group show “Surrealism and Us: Caribbean and African Diasporic Artists since 1940” at the Modern Museum of Fort Worth in Texas. James Cohan, with three spaces in New York, is gearing up for Sinnapah Mary’s first solo exhibition with them in spring 2025. Born in Saint-François, Guadeloupe, she continues to create out of her home island.
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APPOINTMENTS
New Chief Financial Officer at Peabody Essex
The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Mass., has named Gevelyn McCaskill as its incoming chief financial officer. McCaskill, who has been with the museum since 2016 and currently serves as the director of Financial Planning and Business Intelligence, will take on the role following the retirement of the current CFO, Nathalie Apchin, on March 31. (2/8) | More
American Academy Welcomes New Members
The American Academy of Arts and Letters has welcomed new members including Sharon E. Sutton (Architecture); Simone Leigh, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Henry Taylor (Art); Margo Jefferson (Literature); and Terence Blanchard, Anthony Braxton, and Roscoe Mitchell (Music). (2/29) | More
New Marketing Chief at Dance Theatre of Harlem
Fatima Jones will be joining the Dance Theatre of Harlem as their chief marketing and communications officer. Bringing over twenty years of experience in cultural institutions in New York City, Jones started at The Apollo in 2018 and later became the first person to hold the position of chief marketing and communications officer.
Latest News in Black Art: Honors and Awards
Gevelyn McCaskill has taken on a new role at the Harlem theater, following his position as director of public relations at the Brooklyn Museum.
IMAGE: Above right, Gevelyn McCaskill. | © 2022 Peabody Essex Museum, Photo by Kathy Tarantola
GARY TYLER, “In Memoriam of an Ashanti Warrior,” 1996, 2024 (quilting fabric, thread, and batting, 48.5 h x 47 w inches). | © Gary Tyler
AWARDS & HONORS
Frieze LA Impact Prize
Gary Tyler was honored with the 2024 Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize. Tyler, an artist from Los Angeles, is known for his textile work inspired by traditional quilting techniques he learned while working with terminally ill inmates in a prison hospice. After being sentenced to death as a teenager, Tyler spent 42 years in prison before his sentence was commuted in 2016. The award included $25,000, and his piece “In Memoriam of an Ashanti Warrior” was acquired by The City of Santa Monica’s public Art Bank. Tyler also presented new work at Frieze Los Angeles in collaboration with The Center for Art and Advocacy.
Volta Award Goes to Steve McQueen
British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen was presented with the Volta Award at the Dublin International Film Festival by the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins. The award celebrates McQueen’s lifetime achievements and is considered one of the highest honors in Irish film. McQueen, known for winning the Turner Prize in 1999 and directing the Oscar-winning film “12 Years a Slave” (2013), will be showcasing a major installation at Dia Beacon in May.
Simon Benjamin, a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker from Jamaica, has been selected as the 2024 Jacob Lawrence Legacy Resident. Benjamin, based in New York, will collaborate with Guest Curator Berette S Macaulay during his residency at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery at the University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design. The resulting work will be exhibited at the gallery from April 3 to April 20.
American Academy Art Awards
The American Academy of Arts and Letters honored eleven artists with the 2024 Awards in Art. Recipients included Edgar Heap of Birds, Fred Wilson, Jordan Casteel, Pepón Osorio, Sharon Hayes, and Adam Pendleton. The awards, ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, were selected by renowned Academy members.
MAGAZINES
Basquiat Covers Gagosian Journal
The latest issue of Gagosian Quarterly showcases the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The publication includes a conversation about Basquiat’s time in Los Angeles during the 1980s with Lisane Basquiat, Jeanine Heriveaux, Larry Gagosian, Tamra Davis, and Fred Hoffman. The journal also delves into Gagosian’s beginnings as an art dealer in LA in the 1970s. This feature coincides with the “Jean-Michel Basquiat: Made on Market Street” exhibition at Gagosian Beverly Hills. Curated by Hoffman and Gagosian, the exhibit focuses on Basquiat’s works from his time in Los Angeles. The show includes pieces from 1982 to 1984 on loan from various collections, highlighting the influence of his time on Market Street in Venice. (2/24) | Gagosian Quarterly
COVER: JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, “Lead Plate with Hole” (1984). | Gagosian Quarterly, Spring 2024
MORE NEWS
Harlem Landscape Designer Collaborates with Dia Beacon
Sara Zewde, a landscape architect, is leading the redesign of the grounds at Dia Beacon, where works by prominent artists such as Stanley Brouwn, Senga Nengudi, Louise Bourgeois, Andy Warhol, and others are exhibited. The large modern art museum is located in the Hudson Valley, about 60 miles north of New York City, and is situated on a historic flood plain at a former Nabisco box printing factory. Zewde, from Harlem, is reimagining eight acres of the back lot, making them accessible to the public. Her design includes sculptural landforms, meadowlands, and pathways that consider storm protection, sea level rise, Indigenous history, and the museum’s legacy. She consulted with Robert Irwin before his passing, who was the original designer of Dia’s entry grounds. Construction on the project is set to start in the summer and conclude in 2025. (3/5) | New York Times
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