February is Black History Month, which gives galleries a great opportunity to celebrate and showcase outstanding works by African-Americans. How beautiful can it be? The answer lies in this New York gallery.
New York’s Grenning Gallery offers an exhibition aimed at celebrating the beauty that African-American artists have to offer next month. Opening February 4 and running through March 5, “Expanding Tradition: The Journey of the African-American Artist” tells an important story about artists who seldom receive the attention they deserve. Curated with Andreé MiChelle — a local African-American writer launching her latest book, Escape Under Cover: The Ola Mae Story — the exhibition will feature Mario Robinson (b.1970), George Morton (b.1983), Philip Smallwood (b.1957), Roger Beckles (b.1958), James Hoston (b.1963), Irvin Rodriguez (b.1988), and Jas Knight (b.1977).
Via the gallery: “Few African-American artists have been given major solo museum shows, and works by 19th and 20th century African-American artists are generally undervalued by the art market relative to those by white artists of equal standing. Only a handful of Black artists — Mark Bradford, Glenn Ligon, and Julie Mehretu to name a few, have made it into the upper reaches of the market with works that fetch millions of dollars at auction. While museums slowly work towards the advancement of racial diversity in the art world, certain private galleries like Jack Shainman Gallery and Papillion Art are beacons of support that serve this under-represented group. And this month, in our small way, the Grenning Gallery is doing our best by showcasing emerging and mid-career African-American Artists.”
10 percent of the opening day’s sales will go towards the Eastville Community Historical Society.
To learn more, visit Grenning Gallery.
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