Kerry James Marshall: Mastery

(Detail of) Bang, 1994

On view through January 29, 2017, Kerry James Marshall: Mastery at The Met Breuer is the largest retrospective to date of African-American artist KJM. Marshall’s works attempt to “counter stereotypical representations of black people in society and reassert the place of the black figure within the canon of Western painting.”

Still Life With Wedding Portrait, 2015

This exhibition runs concurrently with Kerry James Marshall Selects, curated by the artist (drawing works from The Met’s collection) and providing historical context for Marshall’s practice. Note The Met’s encyclopedia collection actually spans over 5,000 years. Rooting/positioning himself within these art historical parameters (bookends) solidified Marshall as a true ‘master’ of his craft.

SOB, SOB 2003

From the exhibition’s curator, Ian Alteveer: “Marshall’s work illustrates the American experience as unimaginable without black history and culture. Through the tropes of traditional painting—portraiture, landscape, and other narrative modes—he builds a conversation around visibility and invisibility. The result is a stunning body of work that is both intimate and monumental.”

Marshall was born in pre-Civil Rights Act Birmingham, Alabama. His figures address ‘assertions of blackness’ in a medium where Africans and African Americans have been largely invisible. His style draws from comic books and muralist tradition, while his forms take the shape of the tableau, landscape and genre paintings.

Campfire Girls, 1995

His works are poignant and compelling–in contemporary America they suddenly feel even more relevant.