There’s a certain irony to the fact that Thompson, an artist who was so in-tune with the patterns of nature and the universe, posed such a fundamental challenge to mainstream art histories.
Alexandra M. Thomas
Alexandra M. Thomas is a PhD student in History of Art, African American Studies, and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Yale University. Her research interests include: global modern and contemporary art, film, and performance; African and African diasporic arts and expressive cultures; and feminist and queer theory.
Posted inArt
In Inky Blacks and Earthy Pastels, Reggie Burrows Hodges Crafts Collective Portraits
Dwelling somewhere between abstraction and figuration, Hodges’s impressionistic paintings enact a critique of rugged individualism.
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The Contours of Black American Life, According to Gordon Parks
Viewing Parks’s photographs in 2021 offers stark, graceful reminders of the ongoing fight for civil rights.
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Enter the Rich, Vibrant Worlds of Thornton Dial
Dial World offers an exciting, if selective, opportunity to gauge the artist’s formal impact — one long overdue.
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A Thought-provoking Teach-in on Anti-Blackness and the Art of Collective Care
Organized by La Tanya S. Autry, scholars, artists, and museum professionals including Christina Sharpe, Key Jo Lee, and William C. Anderson gathered to discuss the limits and possibilities of art to address anti-Blackness.
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With Incisive Urgency, Howardena Pindell Confronts the Lingering Impacts of Racism
Uniting the personal and the political, Rope/Fire/Water positions Pindell’s creative process as entry points towards learning and healing, for both herself and others.
Posted inBooks
Lorraine O’Grady, in All of Her Literary Brilliance
The first book to offer a comprehensive overview of O’Grady’s writings, Writing in Space 1973 — 2019 affirms both the range and reach of the artist’s impact upon an art world that has only belatedly recognized her.
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Embodying a Queer, Pan-Africanist Approach to Spirituality
With Hybrid Spirit, Adejoke Tugbiyele proposes a visual language that explores the intimate connections between queerness, Indigenous African spirituality, and feminism.
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The Long, Rich History of Africa’s Sahel Region
More than merely a grand survey of art from the region, Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara mobilizes discussions around migration and contemporary cultural stewardship.
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Ceramic Sculptures That Refuse the Neat and Tidy
Trafficking in fragments of beings, machines, and ideas, Julia Phillips rejects the immediate gratification of simple forms and answers.
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Kevin Beasley’s Sculptures Evoke the Family Intimacy We’re All Missing
In his exhibition Reunion, Beasley’s sculptures express reverence for his family’s annual gatherings in Virginia — canceled this year due to the pandemic, like so much else.
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The Luminous Blues of Ficre Ghebreyesus’s Painterly World
Foregrounding narratives of oceanic migration, Ghebreyesus’s paintings radiate power and serenity in vibrant shades of blue.
