Kerry James Marshall's 'The Histories' at Kunsthaus Zurich

Kerry James Marshall's solo exhibition 'The Histories' opens at Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland, continuing his exploration of Black identity and complex historical narratives. The American artist, born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1955, previously created the intervention 'Thinking Historically in the Present' for the 2022 Sharjah Art Foundation Biennale in the UAE. In a 2023 interview with Emily Watlington for Art in America, Marshall stated: 'I define myself as a history painter. [...] I look at history and try to bring out connections that people don't automatically grasp.' His paintings address the legacy of slavery, colonialism, and imperialism, refusing simplistic binaries of good versus evil. Works like 'Haul' (2025) depict individuals within enslaved communities who chose to participate in the slave trade. Marshall uses complex black pigments to counter reductive stereotypes. The exhibition title 'The Histories' echoes scholar Jonathan Scott Holloway's question: 'Who deserves to have a History, their own history?' Marshall's paintings, such as 'Beauty Queen' (2014), challenge viewers to consider their own positions during historical injustices. He told Watlington: 'I create works because I want to see what they look like. [...] When Jackson Pollock reached the end of the road, he crashed his car. Mark Rothko [killed himself]. You can't create ethereal rectangles for your whole life.'