Figuratively Speaking, a premier selection of vibrant, dynamic works of form and figuration. From tender vignettes of quiet silhouetted repose to scenes of exuberant family life, this exhibition of nearly thirty paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculptures invites viewers to consider the contours of Black life as depicted by important artists from the 19th century to present day. Titans of the canon such as Joshua Johnson, Kara Walker, Romare Bearden, Eldzier Cortor, Carrie Mae Weems, Roy DeCarava, Lorna Simpson, and others constitute the heart of the exhibition. These rarely seen works reflect on historic milestones in Black history as well as interior moments of quotidian life. With thematic masterworks that bring to life concepts such as lineage, home-going, identity, and more, Figuratively Speaking etches a kaleidoscopic portrait of subjects moving through space; rendered in terms unequivocally Black.
Henry Ossawa Tanner's portrait of his wife Jessie Macauley Olsen is a tender example of the artist's sensitivity to silhouette, shape and shadow. With brushstrokes whose texture provides a hazy softness to the figure's profile, Tanner embues this painting with an air of dignified care. Framed by a sable background and iluminated by a soft warm light, the figure gazes toward sights unpictured, poised in contemplation.
The vivid picture of dignified leisure, this portrait of a woman poised on a red chair is an exceptional instance of the artist's signature attenuation to body and form in his figurative paintings. Holding the slender handle of a fan, the figure sits with pristine posture; regal against the flowing form of emerald curtains. Cortor, known for his celebration of the Black female body in his work, depicts this figure with notable attention to muscularity; as seen in the figure's supple shading.
Acaptivating work of art, Abstract Expressionist Norman Lewis composed this painting in 1945, when he was transitioning from social realism to abstraction. While this work remains untitled, it is visually similar to those inspired by jazz music and street scenes, calling on his distinct practice of subtly referencing the outside world in his work. In this painting, the rhythm and flow of jazz are articulated through rich colors, expressive brushwork, and organic forms fit into a thick, lattice-like structural outline.
In this monochromatic ink work, Wifredo Lam returns to a familiar motif, the polymorphic horse-headed woman (which appears in several of his works, such as Femme Cheval and Horse-Headed Woman.) Over the course of his career, Lam’s work has reflected on spiritual symbology in Santeria and Voodoo culture, and this piece is no exception. Here, Lam is experimenting with representations of divine femininity and Afro Cuban archetypes of ancestral guardianship.
Wifredo Lam (1902 - 1982)
Horse Woman on the Chair, 1951 Ink and Ink Wash on Paper 15 7/8 x 12 ⅜ in. (40.3 x 31.4 cm)
The motif of the self-portrait is not new for Glenn Ligon, as previous works such as Self Portrait #7 (1996) and Self Portrait at Eleven Years Old (2004) share a sense of monochromatic exploration by using images, words, and references to the artist’s cultural heroes and influences to represent aspects of his own identity. Ligon, by modulating an abstraction of his visage, engages with the concept of anonymity and presentation in this 2020 work. With layers of paper, some edges frayed and torn, others precisely clipped, Ligon constructs a composite image of a masculine silhouette whose eyes and mouth are enigmatically obscured by spray paint caliginosity. Often drawing inspiration from prominent African-American writers such as James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison, Ligon’s renowned canon of work is rooted in a deliberate embrace of historical contextualization.
Glenn Ligon (1960 – )
Self Portrait, 2020
Ink, Spray Paint, Charcoal and Collage on Paper 11 x 8 ⅜ in.(27.9 x 21.3 cm)
Richmond Barthé’s Quo Vadis (Where are you going?) originated from a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz entitled Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero. Barthé was apparently inspired by the same-titled 1951 Hollywood movie and shaped this masculine character with the adaptation of Sienkiewicz’s epic in mind. The pro-Christian sentiments in the Quo Vadis story perhaps resonated with Richard Barthé, an artist of deep Christian faith and a frequent sculptor of religious figures. Barthé was also drawn to celebrities of theater and dance and the hero of this statue complicates that religious sentiment with a celebration of masculine physique and power over the wider notions of Roman virtus or manly virtue. The onscreen presence of actor Robert Taylor in the 1951 film Quo Vadis inspired Barthé to finish his sculpture as a sexually potent revision of the Roman man for an erotic 20th-century gaze.
Richmond Barthé (1901 - 1989)
Quo Vadis, ca. 1951
Cast Bronze with Dark Brown Patina on Marble Base
21 x 9 1/2 x 7 ⅛ in. (53.3 x 24.1 x 18.1 cm)
Base: 1 x 9 x 7 ⅜ in. (2.5 x 22.9 x 18.7 cm)
Total: 22 x 9 1/2 x 7 ⅜ in. (55.9 x 24.1 x 18.7 cm)
DeCarava's untitled photograph (pictured to the right) is a notable example of the refined simplicity of the artist's style. An older man leans against a pole with a National Alliance of Businessmen portfolio that declares “hire, train, retain.” His sharp attire, completed with a feathered top hat, inclines us to believe that this man is in search of a job or is a manager that benefits from the government program – a testament to the Black job market in New York in the 1950’s. He is balanced on his right arm that is hidden behind his back and his fingers clasp a sheet of paper. This moment of isolated self-reflection, something so discreet, fleeting and rare in New York City, is so delicately and surreptitiously captured by DeCarava.
Roy DeCarava (1911 - 1988)
Untitled (Man with Portfolio), 1950s
Gelatin Silver Print
Image: 12 ¾ x 9 1/4 in. (32.39 x 23.5 cm)
Paper: 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm)
This 16th century work is a rare find for any collector. Painted in classic academic style, this portrait by Franz Canton depicts a well-dressed escort, flanked by a young Black page. Peering coyly towards the viewer, her pale skin is dramatized by a rosy flush and the rich colors of her embellished cerulean cape and bright red throw. Figured from the shadows of the background, the Black page's youthful , jesting form is active; pointing towards the far edge of the frame. A vignette of courtly characters, this historic snapshot of how race, class, and gender shaped societal expectations for pleasure and frivolity is a strking aspect of this painting.
Bill Hodges Gallery
Franz Canton (1671 – 1734)
Courtesan and Her Page Oil on Canvas
Acaptivating work of art, Abstract Expressionist Norman Lewis composed this painting in 1945, when he was transitioning from social realism to abstraction. While this work remains untitled, it is visually similar to those inspired by jazz music and street scenes, calling on his distinct practice of subtly referencing the outside world in his work. In this painting, the rhythm and flow of jazz are articulated through rich colors, expressive brushwork, and organic forms fit into a thick, lattice-like structural outline. Though previously overlooked by art history. Lewis's body of work and artistic philosophy demonstrate the exclusionary rhetoric around Abstract Expressionism and encourages a reexamination of how we conceptualize the movement today.
Untitled (Woman with a Yellow Flower), 1943
Gouache and Watercolor on Wove Paper
Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)
20 x 14 in. (50.8 x 35.6 cm)
In this oil on canvas, a young boy dons a floppy, brimmed hat and a concolorous coat, clutching a pair of gloves in his hand. With his head tilted and demure, he gazes to the side with soulful and communicative eyes. His hands are crossed elegantly, in the manner of a well-educated lady in Old Masters' painting. Depicted with unnaturally sloped shoulders and an elongated neck, this figure stands dignified; the confluence of masculine and feminine characteristics. Though the color palette is muted, Sebree's composition remains active; energized by the nuance in the portrait's implication.
Untitled (White Gloves), ca. 1950
Oil on Canvas 36 x 28 in. (91.4 x 71.1 cm)
Charles Sebree (1914 - 1985)
Another instance of Eldzier Cortor's signature approach to graceful, dignified figuration in his paintings, Marche Assemblage III is a tender composition of elegant contemplation. Draped in rosy pink fabric, the female figure in the foreground raises a gentle hand to the straw hat which frames her head as if it were a golden halo. Tropical fruits, vases, and sea shells are scattered around, their bright colors decorating the scene with a warm glow. Known for his elongated nude figures in intimate settings, Cortor skillfully blends traditional African art silhouettes with European Art sensibilities; creating aesthetic surrealism in his work.
Sunset, a collage of verdant greens, delicately accented by the magenta hues of a figure cradled in foliage abound. Though shape and shadow are bisected and sourced from the saturated dyes of cuttings and photographs, the composition of Sunset is imbued with a dreamy gentleness that an impressionist scene of idyllic nature might invoke. The feminine figure in the foreground, whose shades of orange share a color palette only with the setting sun, is the portrait of interior serenity. Donning a beaded headband with eyes not quite closed, the corners of her mouth curve into a gentle smile. Bearden, a tour de force of the mixed media and collage genre, beckons viewers to consider how a spirit of tranquility can be inscribed within pressed layers of paper on fiberboard. Created at the height of the artist’s collage works, Bearden’s Sunset is the pinnacle of craft and detail, illustrative of an artist’s keen sensibility of surreal place and personhood that a work can evoke.
Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988)
Sunset (Mysterious Woman), 1980
Collage and Mixed Media on Fiberboard
14 x 18 in. (35.6 x 45.7 cm)
Kara Walker’s etching, The Secret Sharerer from the series: An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters, is a striking exploration of her signature manipulation of shape, shadow, and silhouette to depict a layered, often historical narrative. With foreground and background flattened by the otherworldly sense of perspective and light, the four figures depicted in couplets stand in stunning contrast to each other. By layering one dramatic scene onto another, Walker engages with themes of temporality, aliveness, and death –both psychosocial and corporeal, in this uniquely evocative work.
Etching with Aquatint, Sugar-Lift,Spit-bite and Dy-point, Printed on Hahnemuhle Copperplate Bright White 300gm Paper
Edition of 30
Image: 23 1/2 x 23 1/2 in. (59.7 x 59.7 cm)
Paper: 30 1/4 x 27 ¾ in. (76.8 x 70.5 cm)
Kara Walker (1969 - ) The Secret Sharerer, 2010Framed in a convex composition, Carrie Mae Weems' The Broken, See Duchamp is a striking vignette. A compositional engagement with Marcel Duchamp's last major artwork, " Étant donnés , this phograph by Weems is a near-surreal glimpse into intimate tableau. Rendered in obscurative shadow, the prostrate form of a female figure lays with legs akimbo . With one raised arm, she holds up a lamp, whose light gleams to the edges of the work.
Bill Hodges Gallery
The Broken, See Duchamp, 2012
Chromogenic Print in Artist's Frame
Edition of 3 (Plus 2 APs)
Diameter 21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm)
Carrie Mae Weems (1953 - )buoy is one work from a series of six prints titled An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters by Kara Walker. ,epicts various scenes concerning the devastating transatlantic slave trade using Walker’s familiar style of dramatic monochrome and exaggerated features. buoy, is a curious piece as it is more fantastical than contextual compared to the other works in the series. Pictured here, created from aquatint, is the floating body of a Black man camouflaged in a pool of more black. The character’s eyes sink lifelessly towards the water as his head and body float. On the character’s stomach lies a ghastly woman with petrified eyes and flowing hair. Roped around her neck and bare abdomen are two, small black arms pulling her down into the darkness surrounding her and lifeless character. This somber portrait presents difficult ideas and histories in such bare, analogical terms, which is a strong suit of Walker’s style.
Bill Hodges Gallery
Kara Walker (1969 - )
buoy, 2010
Etchiung with Aquatint, Sugar-lift, Spit-bite and Dry-point, Painted on Hahnemuhle Copperplate Bright White 300gm paper Edition of 30
Image: 23 ¾ x 32 1/4 in. (60.3 x 81.9 cm)
Paper: 30 1/4 x 36 1/4 in. (76.8 x 92.1 cm)
Ascene of companions in comfortable contemplation, Charles Sebree's Two Figures in an Alleyway is an endearing portrait whose compotion is balanced by a careful attenuation to light, shadow, and dimension. The figures depicted, whose sloping silhouettes anchor the work's quiet rhythm, are dressed in everyday attire. One peering curiously, the other with a downcast gaze, the solidarity invoked within the layer of paint on masonite distinguishes this composition as a classic work of Sebree's ouvre.
Charles Sebree (1914 - 1985)
Two Figures in an Alleyway, 1938 Oil on Masonite 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm)
Elizabeth Catlett's sculpture, The Family depicts an African American father, mother, and child standing and embracing. In bronze with brown patina, the lines of The Family follow the soft curve of her fine carving techniques, making the figure feel at once monumental and timeless. From the portrayal of this heartwarming American family, the artist would continue to find imagery to fuel a revolution, reminding us of the role that art can play in the fight for social justice. As Catlett once proclaimed, “We have to create an art for liberation and for life."
Elizabeth Catlett (1915 - 2012)
The Family, 2002
Known as the earliest documented professional African American artist in the United States, Joshua Johnson (ca.1763 - ca.1824) was active in Baltimore and profited by painting Baltimore's rising middle class of merchants, importers and their families, during a time when portraits are deemed as an symbol of superiority. The two portraits, Baltimore Shipowner and Baltimore Shipowner’s Wife, displayed side-by-side above, as the way they are supposed to be hanged, would be an exceptional demonstration of the artist’s style.
Typical of Johnson’s work during his most active years, the deep green spandrels encircle the figures, who are meticulously limned on a black background. Johnson’s naïve art, which means art made by artists who are never formally trained, merges the humanistic portrayal of figures in Renaissance art into the framework of Medieval art. Two sitters pose stiffly in a three-quarter view, sharing formulaic facial structures, whereas the outlines are delicately rendered. With the translucent glazes covered on the thinly painted surface, the subtle skin tone is lightened up, and the textures of the luxurious fabric such as the cravat of the shipowner and the frill on the hood of his wife are enhanced.
Hale Woodruff’s Torso, a dynamic crayon and charcoal on paper work, features the hazy, segmented form of a human figure. With line making that utilizes both the negative space of the paper and striking, demonstrative strokes of charcoal, Woodruff positions the center of the figure as a strong anchor for the surrounding liveliness of the composition. Balancing both a sense of horizontality and verticality in the form’s shape, this monochromatic work appears as a near-abstraction of the artist’s recognizably bold, muscular early style.
Hale Woodruff (1900 - 1980)
Torso, ca. 1960
Crayon and Charcoal on Paper 27 1/2 x 20 1/4 in. (69.9 x 51.4 cm)
As one of America’s most brilliant and dynamic woman painters, Marion Greenwood (1909 - 1970) is most well known for her murals, which makes this intimate work on paper, Mother and Child (Study), a rarely-seen piece. A woman whose gaze is framed by soft, sweeping gestures of charcoal cradles the gentle silhouette of her child in this charcoal drawing. Produced during a 1951 trip to Haiti, this tender vignette is the picture of maternal care, a sensitive depiction of family nurturing. With dynamic line-making accented by shades of shadow, this work by Marion Greenwood exemplifies the artist's intentionality and deliberation with regard to her celebrated portraits. Using rough yet sweeping strokes, Greenwood documents the everyday experience of life with a spirit of liveliness and dimension that is felt even in this monochromatic study.
Lyle Ashton Harris' Sisterhood is a gentle, yet powerful composition of dignified care. A portrait of two figures whose attire and visage blends masculine and feminine archetypes , this photograph exudes a sense of regal dignification. With the use of red, gren, and black, Harris engages with notions of peoplehood, Black nationhood, and gender in this evocative, beautiful image.
Lyle Ashton Harris (1965 - ) Sisterhood, 1994
Curving into the shape of his song, the performer figured in Benny Andrews' Violinist is a delightful composition. A work that exemplifies the artist's signature thinlined drawing style, this ink on paper depiction of musicality is a monochromatic delight. A visual characterization of the crooning, sweeping soprano sound of the instrument, Andrews' Violinist is a pleasant rendering of melodic art.
Chester Higgins' Brazilian Ochun is a striking, beautiful composition of spiritual regality. The image shown here is featured on the cover of his book, Feeling the Spirit. Photographed in 1989, the woman represents and celebrates the Ochun goddess. A deity of love and beauty originally worshiped by the Yoruba people of Africa that made its way into the religions of Latin American countries, such as Brazil. The title indicates the woman is a native of Brazil and thereby ties Latin America to the African Diaspora through religion.
Brazilian Ochun, 1989
Printed 1996
Archival Gelatin Silver Print
Image: 19 x 12 7/8 in. (50.17 x 32.7 cm)
Paper: 19 7/8 x 15 7/8 in. (50.48 x 40.32 cm)
Ropes that could bind and constrict are seen instead winding gracefully around the proud neck of a black figure in Zanele Muholi's gelatin silver print MaID, Philadelphia. n this work, Muholi turns the camera to themselves. A part of the series Somnyama Ngonyama (meaning ‘Hail, the Dark Lioness’), MaID, Philadelphia, a self-portrait, aims at the politics of race in the photographic archive. A composition wherein the subject's unwavering resolute gaze is the focal point, Muholi portrays themselves in a highly-stylized fashion. The image maintains a softness despite the visual confrontation of the gaze; as the figure's sable visage anchors the rhythm of the work. In MaID, Philadelphia and related works, Muholi asserts the stakes of racial representation and expression, the conventions of which they feel "[are] continuously performed by the privileged others”. With their camera, Muholi questions the current hierarchy of the art world and fills the vacancy in the related field of documentary photography.
Jean-Baptiste
Carpeaux’s Pourquoi Naître
Esclave (translated: Why Born a Slave”) is a terracotta bust depicting an enslaved woman with distinctly African features. Constrained by ropes that bind her chest and arms, the figure leans forward, gazing defiantly over her shoulder. The composition of this bust was modeled in 1868 and would later be carved into marble in 1873, though the abolition of slavery in the French colonies occurred over twenty years prior (1848). While Carpeaux’s inscription “Pourquoi naître esclave?" indicates the work’s abolitionist intent, the bust’s rendering of Black humanity as still confined within the bounds of enslavement perpetuated traditional Western ideologies that normalized imagery of the subjugation of African peoples. As a result, this important work embodies the complex crossroads of colonial exploitation, racial fascination, and emancipation.
