In honour of Black History Month, this month’s art focus celebrates the groundbreaking work of iconic Black artists who have shaped the art world over the decades. Our special showcase highlights the creativity, vision, and cultural impact of these trailblazers, from historical pioneers to contemporary masters. Join us as we honour and explore the powerful legacy and enduring contributions of Black artists throughout history. These painters have had a personal effect on the team here at Grace's Giclée and we are excited to put these artists under the spotlight!
First, we feature the stunning work of Amy Sherald, an American painter renowned for her portraiture that captures African Americans in everyday settings. Her pieces are constantly engaging with the history of photography and portraiture. Often, the titles of her paintings completely transform how people look at her work. For example, her 2017 work of a black man wearing a hat of flowers, posed in a stereotypically feminine stance is compounded with the intriguing title, "Try on dreams until I find the one that fits me. They all fit me.", which enforces the themes of identity and acceptance in her work.
Below is her work First Lady Michelle Obama, first unveiled in 2018. Inspired by the black-and-white photographs shown by W.E.B. Du Bois at the 1900 Paris Expedition, Sherald successfully achieved in creating a portrait that made one of the most famous black people in the world into an accessible and ordinary figure, despite her extraordinary circumstances. This highlights the attitude of individualism, self-help and the ethics of hard work in order to achieve success in life.
Next, we turn our attention to Kara Walker, a contemporary American artist famed for her bold explorations of race, gender, sexuality, and identity. In particular, her cut-paper silhouettes are especially evocative, as they narrate challenging historical periods that are otherwise hard to tackle. One of her most famous pieces, Gone, features the harsh realities of the Antebellum American South. Her portfolio often blurs mediums together, breaking the moulds of artistic definition, leading the new tends of contemporary society. She has also focused on current affairs, producing paintings after events like Hurricane Katrina (After the Deluge) which devastated black communities in cities like New Orleans. Her work earned her the 1997 MacArthur fellowship at the age of 28.
Crossing over to the UK, we spotlight Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, a British painter and writer of Ghanaian heritage. Taken from other images, or even her own expansive imagination, her fictionalised portraits invoke a sense of familiarity and mystery at the same time. Her work is often accompanied by poetic titles, highlighting the influence of her writing practice, and how the two mediums can work together to enhance interpretation and appreciation. Her ability to conjure untraceable figures that blur the lines between fiction and reality allows the viewer to bring their own life experience to the piece. This shows the multi-faceted nature of her work, and how it is able to speak to so many people. Shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2013, she has shaped English modern black portraiture into what it is today.
Mickalene Thomas is another standout, a contemporary African-American visual artist best known for her striking mixed-media paintings that combine rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel. Her work echoes the work of Yiadome-Boakye through her anonymous but tantalising portraits of black women, using her dimensional work as a way to express themes of sexuality (her 2023 exhibition features a series of nude portraits, focusing on this theme in particular) and confidence (many of her artworks involve the model looking straight at the viewer, inviting them to feel self-emboldened, exactly like the women depicted).
Finally, we spotlight the iconic Jean-Michel Basquiat. Gaining fame as part of a graffiti duo in his hometown of Manhattan, his hip-hop influenced work pitted the rich and the poor against each other, as well as focusing criticism against segregation of communities. His exponential rise in the art scene led him to become the youngest artist to ever take part in Documenta, a contemporary art exhibition which had enjoyed the fruits of labour of many famous names such as Picasso and Kandinsky...at just 21. His anatomical drawings are impressive, emphasising a fragmented and broken nature, and yet still remaining eerily close to his sense of identity as he lived under the immense societal pressures and environments as a bisexual black man living in New York. His painting Untitled (1982) sold for a record $110.5 million, and still remains one of the most expensive artworks ever sold. Incredible.
From realism to abstraction, these artists—and many more—have not only raised awareness of critical issues but have also shared their unique perspectives on the world through their art. It has been a joy writing about these wonderful artists and what they stand for. Their contributions continue to shape the global art scene, inspiring future generations. Stay tuned for next month's theme!