RUN to see Kerry James Marshall's terrific retrospective titled MASTRY at the Met Breuer before it ends January 29th, 2017. (Photos forthcoming.) This show is so much better than any reproductions can visually communicate - the paint quality, the collaged elements, the excitement of both form and content sleeping together - sometimes at odds and at other times in harmony; thin and thick paint applied to the canvas -- realistic rendering intertwined with powerfully structured abstraction. Bravado brushwork - his hand allowing for drips and globs to accumulate singing along with exquisitely delicate painted areas - observed with a piercing sensitivity. His subjects convey pathos and pain intermixed with the strength and dignity of the African -American community that he knows and loves.
The richness of historical and contemporary references pull us back in time to Nat Turner, the deaths of civil rights activists and the everyday gathering spaces where black people come together for joy and comfort. Marshall's penetrating eye focuses on issues that African Americans have struggled through over the years - public housing, self-identity, and the ever present racism. The paintings themselves are quite graphic - black and white tones dominate - words are incorporated which convey irony as well as poetry in the form of flying banners of musical notes streaming out of high-rise buildings. These artworks are symphonies with codas and resonating undertones creating a deeply felt experience.
I loved this show too. The intense blacks against black. The beautiful doe from Medieval tapestries. The joyful scenes of African American life and the sadness of the rundown places where they were forced to live. Your writing is beautiful, Grace. i enjoyed it immensely. Phyllis
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