LONDON — London’s Royal Academy and the National Portrait Gallery, founded in 1768 and 1856 respectively, have long been symbols of the British art establishment, one dominated by white men. In February, RA opened entangled past, which examines its own connections to colonialism by interweaving the work of contemporary black British artists from the African, Caribbean and South Asian diaspora with its own historical collections, while highlighting historical black figures who have been excluded from standard art histories. The National Portrait Gallery is taking a different tack as it rejuvenates itself after being closed for three years for refurbishments. Curated by Ekow Eshun, former director of the London Institute of Contemporary Art, The time is always now: Artists reinvent black characters Featuring the work of 22 artists from the African diaspora, the exhibition explores the richness and complexity of black life through portraiture.Separate from the NPG’s permanent collection, it both separates the artist from the staid art canon and showcases portraiture—the museum’s Purpose — is an exciting and relevant mode of creating contemporary art.
The portraiture approach provides space for psychological reflection. This can easily lead curators to make speculative interpretations when viewing historical works, where the aim here is to explore the subject in its broadest sense while centering the experience of both the artist and the viewer. Eshun’s goal is to move away from outward representations of blackness—”the dominant art historical perspective”—and instead invite us to “[see] From the perspective of black artists and the characters they depict. The curation allows numerous artistic voices to be expressed in powerful and direct ways, with appropriate reference to classics embodied in the museum’s collections, such as Kenyan-American artist Wangechi Mutu’s “The Second Dreamer” (2017). Lying on its side on a plinth, the bronze head is reminiscent of Brancusi’s The Sleeping Muse (1910), itself derived from masks he collected from the African continent. Mutu reinterprets this form as a self-portrait with braided hair, recycling notions of the “exotic” or “other” from white historical practices.
Eshun opens the exhibition with the key concept of “double consciousness” proposed by African-American sociologist WEB Du Bois in 1903, which describes black people physically living within white society but psychologically not. The experience of living outside white society. American Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s powerful work fragments the faces of her subjects into facets in portraits that look once collaged and (small “C”) Cubist, breaking represents the various components of the expression and represents the internal conflict of the idea. Of course, as a viewer, it made me feel complicit, as if my gaze itself was hitting those closely cropped faces. Standing before visitors is British sculptor Thomas J. Price’s monumental bronze sculpture “Sound Becomes Noise” (2023), which was synthesized from 3D scans of individuals from London and Los Angeles. become. Its monumentality draws on the gilded bronze figures common in Western historical sculpture, visually and physically presenting multiple marginalized people within a single monumental figure.
A section titled “The Persistence of History” applies concepts of visibility and perception specifically to black figures in art history. White artists often depicted black characters as peripheral to the narrative, often without identity. Like Nathaniel Mary Queen’s deconstructions of the portraits themselves, many of them are interventions or versions of historical artworks.Series by British artist Barbara Walker vanishing point (2017-present) Represents historic Western paintings as relief patterns on white paper so that when viewed in bright light they are only readable as subtle shadows, while the lone black figure in the narrative is rendered entirely in graphite render. Walker utilizes the idea of the vanishing point as a perspective device that presents the illusion of depth, bringing black characters into focus and marginalizing white characters through extreme contrasts of visibility. Likewise, the American painter Titus Kaphar literally cut out white figures from a historical work, spreading the canvas over another depicting black figures in close-up. In these works, background figures peek through, once again being considered the focal point and reversing the original hierarchy in the composition. The familiarity of traditional Western history painting is subverted to highlight marginalized black subjects.
The closing section, “Our Vitality,” asks us to consider “the wonder and fragility of everyday Black people.” The idea of double consciousness is again evoked in a series of isolated figures by British-Jamaican artist Hervin Anderson in barbershop scenes. These barbershops in the UK cater to a trendy generation who aren’t popular elsewhere. Shot from behind, the figures appear intimate yet isolated against a sparse background. Elsewhere, Henry Taylor’s work similarly evokes early themes of black visibility, depicting the socially marginalized people he encountered in his daily life.
title time is always now Taken from a series of articles in 1955, Notes of a Native Son, by James Baldwin. Eshun chose it to highlight the continued importance of issues of black identity, visibility, and recognition in predominantly white societies as urgent, critical, and emotional factors in black lives and experiences, as well as the flourishing art produced by black artists sports. All the works on display here are stunning from a technical perspective as well as for the powerful aesthetic and emotional impact they convey.Although RA’s entangled past Looking back on its colonial past to consider its future, time is always now Utilize the NPG as a showcase for today’s artists as it demonstrates its relevance as an active participant in global contemporary art. Notably, NPG director Nicholas Cullinan announced a 34% increase in attendance over the past two shows, driven by a £5 ticket price for under-25s. Important show, which is clearly challenging that notion.
The time is always now: Artists reinvent black characters The exhibition will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery (St Martin’s Square, London, UK) until May 19.
