Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi (1948-)
A curator, writer, quilter and print maker, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi (b 1948) is perhaps the most important advocate for African American quilts and those who create them. She has curated several major exhibitions and written several books which accompanied her exhibitions, including “Spirts Of The Cloth” (1998) and “Textual Rhythms: Quilting the Jazz Tradition“ (2007).
In 1985, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi founded the non-profit organization, Women of Color Quilters Network (WCON). The organization’s mission is to educate others about African American quilts and its artistic importance by producing exhibitions, documenting, preserving and educating others about them.
Some of America’s noted and innovated African American artists who work with the quilt medium have been included In Mazloomi’s exhibitions and books, such as Bisa Butler, Sharon Kerry-Harlan, Jim Smoote and Sonji Hunt.
Mazloomi is a noted quilt artist herself. Her work has been included extensively in several exhibitions and collections at major museums and other venues, such as the American Folk Art Museum, the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery, the Mint Museum and Museum of Art and Design. Her work is also in numerous private collections.
Mazloomi has curated an upcoming exhibition, “Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West,” which includes the work of 42 artists. The exhibition opens September 3rd, 2022 at the James Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida and it runs through January 8, 2023. Mazlomi has written a book about the exhibition.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Henry Taylor (1958-)
American artist, Henry Taylor (b 1958) lives and works in Los Angeles and his art work offers social commentary on Black American life. Taylor is known for for his portrait paintings. The imagery in his work documents his viewpoint of the world. Taylor also does mixed media installations and sculpture. In 1985, he earned a BFA from CalArts.
Taylor’s paintings have been included in various exhibitions and institutions such Torrance Art Museum, New Museum, and he was one of the artists in the 2017 Whitney Biennial. His work was also in the 58th Venice Biennale in 2018.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Amoako Boafo (1984-)
Based in Vienna, Austria, Amoako Boafo (b 1984) was born in Accra, Ghana. Known for his portraiture paintings that honor the representation of Black figures, Boafo is regarded as one of the leading young voices among today’s African artists. His intriguing Black figures are painted with his fingers instead of a brush. Kehinde Wiley discovered Boafo’s Instagram page and bought one of his artworks. Kehinde introduced Boafo’s work to some of the galleries that represented him. This led to Boafo having his first solo exhibition at the Roberts Projects in Los Angeles.
Boafo’s achievements are impressive. In 2017, Boafo was awarded the Walter Koschatzy Art Prize. Boafo completed a residency at the Rubel Museum in Miami Florida in 2019. While at the Rubell residency, he met Kim Jones, the Creative Director of Dior Menswear and this led to a collaboration between the company and Boafo.
Boafo’s work is widely collected by private and public collectors and institutions, most recently by the Leopold Museum (Vienna, Austria), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY), Marieluise Hessel Collection Hessel Museum of Art (Annandale-On-Hudson, NY), Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College (Annandale-On-Hudson, NY), The Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria), and the Rubell Museum (Miami, FL). His work has exhibited in Europe and in the United States in institutions such as the Volkskunde Museum (Vienna, Austria), Kunsthalle Vienna (Vienna, Austria), Mumok (Vienna, Austria), and The Bass Museum (Miami, FL), among others.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Purvis Young (1942-2010)
One of the most important self-taught artists during the late 20th and early 21st century, Purvis Young (1942-2010), created a unique visual language in his artwork by often combing elements of painting, drawing, collage and discarded objects in his work such as books, wood, scraps, cardboard, doors etc. He grew up in Miami, Florida. His uncle, Irvin Young, who was a well known sign painter, introduced Young to drawing and painting when he was a child.
Though Young did not attend high school, he would spent time at the public library studying books about art and history. What he learned influenced the visual images in his work. Southern Black culture, documentaries about history, and folklore also helped shaped the narrative of his work.
In 2016, a documentary, “Purvis of Overton,” was produced about Young’s life and artwork. His work is in numerous private collections including celebrities like Damon Wayans, Jane Fonda, and Dan Aykroyd. His work is also in one of America’s important art collections of contemporary art, the Rubell Family collection. Some of the museums and institutions that has Young’s work in their collections are High Museum of Art, the American Folk Art Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Museum of African American Museum History and Culture and the Concorde Gallery of Art.
Before his death, Young and his former manager Martin Siskind became involved in a legal battle. In 2007, while Young was in the hospital waiting on a kidney transplant, Young fired Siskind and sued hin for mismanagement of Young’s funds. In turn, Siskind petitioned for Young’s affairs to be placed under legal guardianship due to Young’s mental incompetence. Siskind won, however, it should be noted that Young’s friends disputed Siskind’s claims that Young was mentally incompetent. The result of this action left Young financially unstable. Siskind claimed that he and Young settled the lawsuit and that Young retained ownership of 1,000 paintings.
Purvis Young died April 29, 2010.
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Ruby C. Williams (1928-2022)
Ruby C. Williams (1928-2022), a self-taught artist, was born and raised during the Depression in Bealsville, Florida. Bealsville is a historic African-American town that was formed by freed slaves in 1865. It is one of the oldest African-American communities in Florida. Williams’ great grandmother, Mary Reddick, was one of the 12 formerly freed slaves who founded the town.
In the 1960s, she moved to New Jersey and became a minister and founded a church and worked with at-risk youth. During this time period in her life, she began painting but kept her artistic endeavors a secret. After 25 years in New Jersey, she moved back to Florida.
Since the 1980s, she ran a roadside produce stand and gallery. Her produce stand was where her artistic journey and legacy began. She started painting to pass the time while waiting for customers. Williams entered the folk art arena in the early 1990s when her colorful painted signs she used to advertise her produce caught the attention of folk artist Rodney Hardee, who encouraged Williams to make art. People were stopping by her produce stand to buy the signs she painted that were meant to advertise the produce.
Williams eventually became a star in Central Florida’s art world and beyond. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries, museums, and festivals including Kentuck Festival of Arts, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, Hillsborough Community College Gallery, American Visionary Museum, Polk Museum of Art, and Chicago Cultural Center. She has also been a guest artist at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts in Northport, Alabama.
The Folk Art Society awarded Williams The Folk Art Society of America’s Award of Distinction, in 2009. She also illustrated a children’s book titled “I Am Ruby.” Her artwork is in many public and private collections worldwide. Williams accomplished much in her lifetime and passed away on August 8, 2022.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
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