By Cassandra Lopez
The Philadelphia Tribune
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News
The Philadelphia Museum of Art eagerly presents the North American premiere of “The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure.”
This exhibition, featuring 27 Black and African diasporic contemporary artists who utilize figurative painting, drawing and sculpture to celebrate the nuance and richness of Black contemporary life, invites guests to consider Blackness as a lived experience rather than biological fact.
“’The Time is Always Now’ celebrates a period of extraordinary flourishing in the work of artists from the African diaspora,” said the show’s curator Ekow Eshun.
“My hope is that the exhibition encourages audiences to look more closely at the imaginative reach of the exhibiting artists, the ways they are illuminating the richness and complexity of Black life through figuration, and simultaneously asking searching questions about race, identity and history, all while creating artworks that are never less than dazzling.”
“This is not a portrait show, it’s about the body and the figure. There are a lot of subjects drawn from memory or imagination or an amalgamation of different people,” said Erica Battle, John Alchin and Hal Marryatt Curator of Contemporary Art.
“At a foundational level, the body and figure is the basis of art,” Battle added. “Think about kids’ painting — there is always some kind of representation of a person because that’s what we connect to as people. There is an immediacy of the figure that is so potent. Seeing and asserting the presence of Black figures, Black bodies, Black people is going to create a connection with the audience that cannot be understated.”
The exhibit’s title originates from an essay on desegregation by American writer and social rights activist James Baldwin, further emphasizing a sense of urgency around contemporary artistic expression as a part of an ever-evolving lineage.
The exhibit comprises over 60 contemporary pieces that collectively hit on three core themes: double consciousness, the persistence of history and our aliveness.
Double consciousness, a theory introduced by the African American sociologist W.E.B Du Bois, explores concepts of being, belonging and Blackness as a psychological state and the role Philadelphia plays in the framing of Black identity.
The persistence of history grapples with the absence of Black figures in many mainstream narratives, while our aliveness asserts and celebrates the vitality of Black assembly and gathering. Our aliveness almost counters the ideologies of double consciousness and ponders if Blackness could be an unburdened state of being without the need to explain or justify.
Making the show specific to the city while maintaining its international spirit, the exhibition includes six new artists including two Philadelphia-based artists.
“Working with Eshun and London’s National Portrait Gallery, we were able to build on their great work by adding artists whose work will amplify the experience for our Philadelphia and U.S. audience,” said Battle. “It invites people to see art in a very subjective and intimate way through the eyes of Black creatives and artists — look with instead of look at.”
“The Time is Always Now” features works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby (b. 1983, Nigeria), Hurvin Anderson (b. 1965, UK), Michael Armitage (b. 1984, Kenya), Jordan Casteel (b. 1989, USA), Noah Davis (b. 1983; d. 2015, USA), Godfried Donkor (b. 1964, Ghana), Kimathi Donkor (b. 1965, UK), Denzil Forrester (b. 1956, Grenada), Lubaina Himid (b. 1954, Sultanate of Zanzibar), Claudette Johnson (b. 1959, UK), Titus Kaphar (b. 1976, USA), Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955, USA), Wangechi Mutu (b. 1972, Kenya), Chris Ofili (b. 1968, UK), Toyin Ojih Odutola (b. 1985, Nigeria), Jennifer Packer (b. 1984, USA), Thomas J Price (b. 1981, UK), Nathaniel Mary Quinn (b. 1977, USA), Lorna Simpson (b. 1960, USA), Amy Sherald (b. 1973, USA), Henry Taylor (b. 1958, USA), and Barbara Walker (b. 1964, UK).
The exhibition has been extended for the PMA to include works by Jonathan Lyndon Chase (b. 1989, USA), Kudzanai-Violet Hwami (b. 1993, Zimbabwe), Roberto Lugo (b. 1981, USA), Danielle Mckinney (b. 1981, USA), Deborah Roberts (b. 1960, USA) and Arthur Timothy (b. 1957, Ghana).
“We’re thrilled to work with Ekow to bring this exhibition to Philadelphia,” said Sasha Suda, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Filled with personal narratives, these richly talented artists are addressing urgent and important topics. We’re honored to present this show to our local communities and welcome the important conversations these pieces will inspire.”
“The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure” is organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London, in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The exhibit will be available from Nov.9 – Feb. 9, 2025.
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