National Portrait Gallery London exhibition reframes Black figure through contemporary painting
The National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting 'The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure,' curated by Ekow Eshun, which runs until 19 May and features 22 contemporary artists. This exhibition stands in stark contrast to the museum's predominantly white British permanent collection, highlighting the Black figure as a significant artistic genre. It is organized into three sections and showcases works from prominent artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Amy Sherald, Titus Kaphar, Barbara Walker, Michael Armitage, and Jennifer Packer. Denzil Forrester's 'Itchin & Scratchin' (2019) captures the essence of London and Jamaican nightlife. Novelist Esi Edugyan provides text for the catalogue, focusing on the living subjects depicted in the art and the intersection of contemporary painting with Black political themes.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure' runs through 19 May at National Portrait Gallery London
- Curated by Ekow Eshun featuring 22 contemporary artists mostly from America and Britain
- Exhibition divided into three thematic sections: 'Double Consciousness', 'Past and Presence', and works exploring individual presence
- Includes Kerry James Marshall's 'Untitled (Painter)' (2009) with chromatically black-skinned figure
- Features Titus Kaphar's 'Seeing Through Time' (2018) reworking 18th-century portraits
- Barbara Walker's 'Vanishing Point' drawings erase white figures from Old Master paintings
- Denzil Forrester's 'Itchin & Scratchin' (2019) depicts London/Jamaican club scene without racial markers
- Contrasts with museum's permanent collection of historically white British portraiture
Entities
Artists
- Ekow Eshun
- Kerry James Marshall
- Toyin Ojih Odutola
- Amy Sherald
- Titus Kaphar
- Barbara Walker
- Michael Armitage
- Jennifer Packer
- Denzil Forrester
- Conjestina Achieng
- Pierre Mignard
- Michelangelo
- Poussin
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Esi Edugyan
Institutions
- National Portrait Gallery
- ArtReview
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- America
- Britain
- Jamaica
- Kenya