Four Black Contemporary Artists Highlighted in Subjective List
A group of art historians has created a roster of contemporary Black artists to shed light on those who have been marginalized due to systemic oppression. Featured on this list are Romuald Hazoumè, Zanele Muholi, Chéri Samba, and Kara Walker. Hazoumè, hailing from Porto Novo, Benin, rose to prominence in the 1990s with his innovative masks crafted from repurposed materials, particularly gasoline cans. His 2005 artwork, Bouche du Roi, which marks the 200th anniversary of slavery's abolition, is now part of the British Museum's collection. Muholi focuses on black gender-nonconforming individuals through self-portrait photography, while Samba, associated with the Congolese Popular Painting movement, tackles issues such as AIDS and poverty. Walker's 2015 London exhibition examined narratives of colonialism and slavery, showcasing a large cut-out inspired by Stone Mountain.
Key facts
- Romuald Hazoumè was born in Porto Novo, Benin, into the Yoruba ethnic group.
- Hazoumè's work gained popularity in the early 1990s at the Saatchi Gallery in London.
- Hazoumè's 2005 piece Bouche du Roi was made for the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery (1807) and purchased by the British Museum.
- Zanele Muholi prefers to be called a visual activist and advocates for black gender-nonconforming communities.
- Chéri Samba is a founding member of the Congolese Popular Painting school along with Pierre Bodo.
- Kara Walker is an American artist known for room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes.
- Walker's 2015 exhibition at Victoria Miro Gallery in London engaged with colonialism and slavery narratives in Atlanta.
- Walker's giant cut-out referenced Stone Mountain, a park with the world's largest exposed granite monolith and historical ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
Entities
Artists
- Romuald Hazoumè
- Zanele Muholi
- Chéri Samba
- Kara Walker
- Pierre Bodo
- Renée Mussai
Institutions
- Saatchi Gallery
- British Museum
- MAGNIN-A Gallery
- Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain
- Victoria Miro Gallery
- Honolulu Museum of Art
- Tate Modern
- Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
- Aperture
- ArtReview
- DailyArt Magazine
Locations
- Porto Novo
- Benin
- London
- United Kingdom
- Paris
- France
- Johannesburg
- South Africa
- Charlottesville
- Virginia
- United States
- Kinshasa
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Atlanta
- Honolulu
- Hawaii
- Venice
- Italy