In A New York State of Mind
by P. Andrews-Keenan
This May was an excellent time to get a much needed breath of fresh air after languishing in COVID-19 lock down for more than a year. Liberated by the vaccine, Pigment International took a trip to New York to partake in just a smattering of the many art activities in the city that never sleeps. From exhibitions, to festivals, to commemorations the city never disappoints when it comes to the Black art experience.
Immediately after touching down we headed to the New Museum in the Bowery for the exhibition “Grief and Grievances: Art and Mourning in America.” The exhibit was conceived by noted curator Okwui Enwezor, from Calabar, Nigeria, who at the time was contemplating his own mortality. The prolific curator, who upended the art world and their perceptions of what is contemporary art and who should be invited to exhibit, died in March of 2019 from cancer. His initial concept was an indictment of the divisive politics of the Trump presidency, but he also saw how that divisiveness was impacting the lives of Black people, creating a state of national emergency. “Black grief has been a national emergency for many years now, and many artists have addressed it in their work, he said at the time.
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Procession, 1968, acrylic on wood by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
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Kevin Beasley’s Strange Fruit, 2015, an installation featuring Nike Air Jordan 1 shoes in white and black with polyurethane resin, polyurethane foam, tube socks, shoelaces, rope, speakers, hyper cardioid and contact microphones, amplifier, patch cables ad effects processors.
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Mark Bradford, ‘Untitled’, Mixed Mediums on Canvas, 2020
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Nari Ward, Peace Keeper, Hearse, grease, mufflers, and feathers |
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Henry Taylor, "Untitled", 2020 |
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Jack Whitten, "Birmingham, 1964, Aluminum, newsprint, stocking, and oil on plywood |
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“Coming from Nigeria, I felt I owed no one an explanation for my existence, nor did I harbor any sign of paralyzing inferiority complex.”
Photo by Edward Keating/The New York Times
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Should you be in NYC this Spring consider taking in some of these art events and check out @Pigmentintl on IG for more photos from our NYC trip. |
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"Oracle" by Sanford Biggers |
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"Spirit of Harlem" Mosaic Mural |
Pamella Allen at Calabar Gallery |
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Basquiat’s 'In This Case' headlines Christie’s inaugural 21st Century Evening Sale at $93,105,000 |
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Ghanaian artist draws inspiration from powerful woman in works to be exhibited at 57th Street Art Fair
By Vee L. Harrison
In 2017 when Kwame Boama Mensa arrived in the United States, he didn’t know what reception his art would receive. Would they welcome this newcomer into the American art scene? Mensa, 42, was born and raised in West African Ghana. He started painting full-time after graduating from art school. Studying in Ghana in the 90s gave him a sense of his place as an artist. After graduating in 1999 he realized that his journey was not coincidental; it was purposeful, and a path he’d been on since early childhood.
“When I was growing up in Africa, we would draw all the time, and compare who was the better artist,” Mensa recalled. “I grew up with more than fifteen boys in my extended family and we would draw every day.”
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The 57th Street Virtual Fair is available through May 2022. Returning live in June 2022 |
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Supper’s Our Time by SHAN Wallace, part of Minding My Business (i said what i said) at AWAACC curated by Janice Bond and Sadie B
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"Maya as Gaia, Original Collage Print Signed by Rochelle Sodipo (@rochellesodipo) Number 4 of 20, Framed $500
(Plus shipping)
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