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Here’s my latest article for Smithsonian Magazine. Thank you @nickcaveart for sharing your thoughts with me. #nickcaveart #nickcaveartist

Here’s my latest article for Smithsonian Magazine. Thank you @nickcaveart for sharing your thoughts with me. #nickcaveart #nickcaveartist

I’d like to thank @felandus for welcoming me into his studio to discuss his artistic practice. Check out my latest @artnews article on the exceptionally talented and skilled artist Felandus Thames and his latest exhibition at the Aldrich.

I’d like to thank @felandus for welcoming me into his studio to discuss his artistic practice. Check out my latest @artnews article on the exceptionally talented and skilled artist Felandus Thames and his latest exhibition at the Aldrich.

I am honored to be the Terra Foundation for American Art Postdoctoral Fellow with the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

I am honored to be the Terra Foundation for American Art Postdoctoral Fellow with the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Here are some exhibitions to check out this Black History Month. Read the full article at ARTnews.

Here are some exhibitions to check out this Black History Month. Read the full article at ARTnews.

Walking through the Studio Museum in Harlem is like walking through a textbook - so many power players throughout history. Each artwork contributes to a collective that documents what was happening in the world when the art was made and what was and is still important about society and culture regarding Black life. Seeing so many seminal works that define the oeuvres of Black artists is so awe inspiring for their insight and bravery. The new building design allows for so much more space to exhibit such great art. I was especially thrilled by the museum’s gallery that displayed the works of many of the artists that went through the storied Studio Museum in Harlem Artist in Residence Program. I’m looking forward to the many exhibitions the museum will hold.

1. Norman Lewis, Bonfire, 1962
2. David Hammons, Untitled, 2019
3. Richard Hunter, Hybrid Form #3, 1970
4. Edward Mitchell Bannister, Untitled, 1878
5. Betye Saar, Indigo Mercy, 1975
6. Diedrick Brackens, blesses are the mosquitoes, 2020
7. Karon Davis, Fix Me, 2023
8. Residency Participants
9. Barbara Chase Riboud, Le Manteau or Cleopatra’s Cape, 1974

Walking through the Studio Museum in Harlem is like walking through a textbook - so many power players throughout history. Each artwork contributes to a collective that documents what was happening in the world when the art was made and what was and is still important about society and culture regarding Black life. Seeing so many seminal works that define the oeuvres of Black artists is so awe inspiring for their insight and bravery. The new building design allows for so much more space to exhibit such great art. I was especially thrilled by the museum’s gallery that displayed the works of many of the artists that went through the storied Studio Museum in Harlem Artist in Residence Program. I’m looking forward to the many exhibitions the museum will hold.

1. Norman Lewis, Bonfire, 1962
2. David Hammons, Untitled, 2019
3. Richard Hunter, Hybrid Form #3, 1970
4. Edward Mitchell Bannister, Untitled, 1878
5. Betye Saar, Indigo Mercy, 1975
6. Diedrick Brackens, blesses are the mosquitoes, 2020
7. Karon Davis, Fix Me, 2023
8. Residency Participants
9. Barbara Chase Riboud, Le Manteau or Cleopatra’s Cape, 1974

Please check out my most recent blog post by visiting my website, The Third Eye site (link in bio) and/or my Substack of the same name. If you’re interested in my creative journey, what I’m reading about creativity, and some strategies for being a more disciplined creative, sign up for my newsletter so you won’t miss a blog post.

Be well, Friends.

Please check out my most recent blog post by visiting my website, The Third Eye site (link in bio) and/or my Substack of the same name. If you’re interested in my creative journey, what I’m reading about creativity, and some strategies for being a more disciplined creative, sign up for my newsletter so you won’t miss a blog post.

Be well, Friends.

Wifredo Lam is a consummate modernist. Under the direct tutelage of Pablo Picasso, his figures are cubists in the beginning of his career when in Paris. But it is his return to Cuba when everything shifts. His paintings become more surreal as he employs African diasporic concepts of spirituality into his work. Whereas the paintings in the beginning are colorful, his muted works toward the middle of his career are my favorites. Though still complex, the simplicity of the color palette allows his forms and shading to take center stage, creating an ethereal quality. Wifredo Lam: When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream” is on view at MoMA until April 11.

1. The Threshold, 1950
2. La Reunion/The Meeting, 1942
3. La Jungla/ the Jungle, 1942-43
4. Les Noces Chimiques / The Chemical Nuptials, 1944
5. L’Annunciation / Annunciation, 1944
6. Harpe Astral/ Astral Harp, 1944
7. La Marcheuse des Iles/ The Island Walker, 1944
8. La Reunion/The Meeting, 1945
9. Untitled, 1958
10. Untitled, 1958
11. Untitled, 1958

Wifredo Lam is a consummate modernist. Under the direct tutelage of Pablo Picasso, his figures are cubists in the beginning of his career when in Paris. But it is his return to Cuba when everything shifts. His paintings become more surreal as he employs African diasporic concepts of spirituality into his work. Whereas the paintings in the beginning are colorful, his muted works toward the middle of his career are my favorites. Though still complex, the simplicity of the color palette allows his forms and shading to take center stage, creating an ethereal quality. Wifredo Lam: When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream” is on view at MoMA until April 11.

1. The Threshold, 1950
2. La Reunion/The Meeting, 1942
3. La Jungla/ the Jungle, 1942-43
4. Les Noces Chimiques / The Chemical Nuptials, 1944
5. L’Annunciation / Annunciation, 1944
6. Harpe Astral/ Astral Harp, 1944
7. La Marcheuse des Iles/ The Island Walker, 1944
8. La Reunion/The Meeting, 1945
9. Untitled, 1958
10. Untitled, 1958
11. Untitled, 1958

I’m so thankful for another opportunity to write about the year in Black Art for ARTnews. It is truly an honor to identify the exhibitions that exemplify what Black Art can do. These exhibitions promote ideas prominent in the collective consciousness that might not be easily articulated elsewhere. These artists create art that hold mirrors up to us to show us reflections of ourselves through their art.

I’m so thankful for another opportunity to write about the year in Black Art for ARTnews. It is truly an honor to identify the exhibitions that exemplify what Black Art can do. These exhibitions promote ideas prominent in the collective consciousness that might not be easily articulated elsewhere. These artists create art that hold mirrors up to us to show us reflections of ourselves through their art.

My latest for ARTnews. It is an honor to have written about such a formidable artist. #richardhunt

My latest for ARTnews. It is an honor to have written about such a formidable artist. #richardhunt

My latest from ARTnews:

Even the estate of an artist as acclaimed as Romare Bearden has trouble tracking down the thousands of works he made over the course of his five-decade career. Known as one of America’s foremost collagists, Bearden created a distinctive style that can often be easily recognizable, but tracking down every single work he made, including ones not in that mode, can be a difficult task, especially when it comes to compiling a catalogue raisonné for the artist.

My latest from ARTnews:

Even the estate of an artist as acclaimed as Romare Bearden has trouble tracking down the thousands of works he made over the course of his five-decade career. Known as one of America’s foremost collagists, Bearden created a distinctive style that can often be easily recognizable, but tracking down every single work he made, including ones not in that mode, can be a difficult task, especially when it comes to compiling a catalogue raisonné for the artist.

Being at Umbrella Art Fair in DC for the first time made me aware of the many talented artists in the area. Here are some that caught my eye:

1. G Pack
2. Lauren Bessett
3. Charles Jean-Pierre
4. Blu Murphy
5. Khadijah Jahmilah
6. Mark Kilner
7. Emon Surakitkoson
8. C.S. Corbin
9. Miss Chelove
10. Levi Robinson
11. Alex Ebstein
12. Omari Jesse

Being at Umbrella Art Fair in DC for the first time made me aware of the many talented artists in the area. Here are some that caught my eye:

1. G Pack
2. Lauren Bessett
3. Charles Jean-Pierre
4. Blu Murphy
5. Khadijah Jahmilah
6. Mark Kilner
7. Emon Surakitkoson
8. C.S. Corbin
9. Miss Chelove
10. Levi Robinson
11. Alex Ebstein
12. Omari Jesse

2025 marks the hundredth year since the publication of Alain Locke’s seminal anthology, The New Negro. Last year, I wrote an article for Black Art in America assessing Locke’s thoughts on Black culture’s relevance today. And earlier this year, I wrote an article for ARTnews about the Harlem Renaissance. But I didn’t really do anything else to celebrate this milestone anniversary, and I’m sad about it. I wish I would have been more forward thinking and developed some programming or talked to others to help me do that. I couldn’t let the year go by without acknowledging this moment and what it means for me as an art writer. So much of what I think about in my art writing revolves around the work of critical thinkers like Locke and DuBois. The New Negro Movement really changed Black culture. And if it weren’t for the ground breaking work of scholars like Locke, what we know as Black Art today might be entirely different. #harlemrenaissance100

2025 marks the hundredth year since the publication of Alain Locke’s seminal anthology, The New Negro. Last year, I wrote an article for Black Art in America assessing Locke’s thoughts on Black culture’s relevance today. And earlier this year, I wrote an article for ARTnews about the Harlem Renaissance. But I didn’t really do anything else to celebrate this milestone anniversary, and I’m sad about it. I wish I would have been more forward thinking and developed some programming or talked to others to help me do that. I couldn’t let the year go by without acknowledging this moment and what it means for me as an art writer. So much of what I think about in my art writing revolves around the work of critical thinkers like Locke and DuBois. The New Negro Movement really changed Black culture. And if it weren’t for the ground breaking work of scholars like Locke, what we know as Black Art today might be entirely different. #harlemrenaissance100

I’m heartbroken. The release of D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar marked a magical time in my life. It was more than a soundtrack. He matured me. And Lady, every time I hear this song, I feel as if he’s singing only to me. Rest in paradise, D’Angelo.

I’m heartbroken. The release of D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar marked a magical time in my life. It was more than a soundtrack. He matured me. And Lady, every time I hear this song, I feel as if he’s singing only to me. Rest in paradise, D’Angelo.

I caught the last day of Black Earth Rising at Baltimore Museum of Art yesterday. The artworks included were amazing in composition and concept as they made the viewer think about the ways we interact with the natural world. Artists included Firelei Baez, Teresita Fernandez, and Yinka Shonibare.

I caught the last day of Black Earth Rising at Baltimore Museum of Art yesterday. The artworks included were amazing in composition and concept as they made the viewer think about the ways we interact with the natural world. Artists included Firelei Baez, Teresita Fernandez, and Yinka Shonibare.

Here’s an essay I wrote for The Hopkins Review. If you’re interested in reading the entire essay, the link is in my bio. #blackartcollectors #blackart #blackartinamerica #blackartmatterss

Here’s an essay I wrote for The Hopkins Review. If you’re interested in reading the entire essay, the link is in my bio. #blackartcollectors #blackart #blackartinamerica #blackartmatterss

I was so fortunate to have some time on my trip to NYC this weekend to see Jack Whitten: The Messenger at MoMA. Such a beautifully executed exhibition. It was interesting to see how each series influenced the following and how the culmination of all of it showed up in his later works. Whitten is such a technically adventurous artist. #moma #jackwhitten

I was so fortunate to have some time on my trip to NYC this weekend to see Jack Whitten: The Messenger at MoMA. Such a beautifully executed exhibition. It was interesting to see how each series influenced the following and how the culmination of all of it showed up in his later works. Whitten is such a technically adventurous artist. #moma #jackwhitten

Rashid Johnson definitely created a home-like environment at the Guggenheim. He owned the massive space with a variety of artwork from painting to sculpture to video.

Rashid Johnson definitely created a home-like environment at the Guggenheim. He owned the massive space with a variety of artwork from painting to sculpture to video.

Superfine is a gorgeous display of the dandiest of Black men’s fashion throughout history. It was really great seeing Black men’s style represented with such respect.

Superfine is a gorgeous display of the dandiest of Black men’s fashion throughout history. It was really great seeing Black men’s style represented with such respect.

Moved to tears in the exhibition American Sublime at The Whitney witnessing the mastery of Amy Sherald’s work. She’s grown so much as an artist. Her brushstrokes are so fine they are invisible. She’s certainly existing in a category with the master Kerry James Marshall when it comes to her brushwork. Beautiful show! A review mentioned that her depiction of Black Americana is flat. That is far from the truth. There is such a well-rounded depth and representation of Black people and Black life featured in the exhibition. @asherald #americansublime #amysherald

Moved to tears in the exhibition American Sublime at The Whitney witnessing the mastery of Amy Sherald’s work. She’s grown so much as an artist. Her brushstrokes are so fine they are invisible. She’s certainly existing in a category with the master Kerry James Marshall when it comes to her brushwork. Beautiful show! A review mentioned that her depiction of Black Americana is flat. That is far from the truth. There is such a well-rounded depth and representation of Black people and Black life featured in the exhibition. @asherald #americansublime #amysherald

School is out, but learning doesn’t have to stop. A trip to the museum is a wonderful way to spend a weekend afternoon on a date or with the kids. Adding a guided tour to your museum visit, makes it even more worthwhile.

This summer, every other weekend, on Saturdays and Sundays starting June 7, I will conduct Black Art History Tours at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from 1pm – 3pm.

Take a break from social media and video games, visit the museum to enlighten your mind by sparking curiosity.

Visit www.thethirdeyesite.com to sign up for a date under the “Museum Tours” tab.

*This tour is not affiliated with the Smithsonian American Art Museum

School is out, but learning doesn’t have to stop. A trip to the museum is a wonderful way to spend a weekend afternoon on a date or with the kids. Adding a guided tour to your museum visit, makes it even more worthwhile.

This summer, every other weekend, on Saturdays and Sundays starting June 7, I will conduct Black Art History Tours at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from 1pm – 3pm.

Take a break from social media and video games, visit the museum to enlighten your mind by sparking curiosity.

Visit www.thethirdeyesite.com to sign up for a date under the “Museum Tours” tab.

*This tour is not affiliated with the Smithsonian American Art Museum

The 35th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium was a wonderful time. The panels were enlightening. And I met some artists and art scholars who I admire. The tour and programming of Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist on view at the National Gallery of Art was so insightful. I’ll be visiting the Catlett exhibition several times before it leaves on July 6.

The 35th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium was a wonderful time. The panels were enlightening. And I met some artists and art scholars who I admire. The tour and programming of Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist on view at the National Gallery of Art was so insightful. I’ll be visiting the Catlett exhibition several times before it leaves on July 6.

Layered Lightning: The Collaged Portraiture of Michale B. Platt at Eaton Hotel is a beautiful remembrance of the late artist who was a pillar of the Washington D.c. arts community. Curated by @giametricart

Layered Lightning: The Collaged Portraiture of Michale B. Platt at Eaton Hotel is a beautiful remembrance of the late artist who was a pillar of the Washington D.c. arts community. Curated by @giametricart

As Black History Month comes to a close, may we not forget to celebrate Black history every day. Check out these two articles I wrote for Black history month at ARTnews this year.

As Black History Month comes to a close, may we not forget to celebrate Black history every day. Check out these two articles I wrote for Black history month at ARTnews this year.

Makonnen’s exhibition showcasing these towers, now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, is called “Sanctuary.” The Ethiopian crosses symbolize eternal life and connection, and given that a sanctuary is a place for refuge and safety and holiness, Makonnen’s artwork provides some semblance of that for the spirits of the fallen and slain after their lives have ended.

Makonnen’s exhibition showcasing these towers, now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, is called “Sanctuary.” The Ethiopian crosses symbolize eternal life and connection, and given that a sanctuary is a place for refuge and safety and holiness, Makonnen’s artwork provides some semblance of that for the spirits of the fallen and slain after their lives have ended.

With the proliferation of portraits and other sorts of figurative painting, it’s clear that Black artists have developed a yet untitled art movement, that I’d like to call Portrayalism, a movement of representation, that includes the Black image in the western art canon en masse. Though Black people have always made art, in western society their art has been “Othered” as primitive and fetishized by Europeans. With a plethora of institutions where the portraits of white nobility can be viewed in gallery upon gallery in museums across the western world, the invisibility of the Other is starkly apparent. In these galleries of historical record, it is as if white people are the only ones who are important enough to be recorded and displayed. Yes, there were artists who placed images of Black bodies on canvas, but more often than not they are there as support for the central figure who is often white.

Read more at: www.blackartinamerica.com

#blackartinamerica #blackart #blackartists #potraits

With the proliferation of portraits and other sorts of figurative painting, it’s clear that Black artists have developed a yet untitled art movement, that I’d like to call Portrayalism, a movement of representation, that includes the Black image in the western art canon en masse. Though Black people have always made art, in western society their art has been “Othered” as primitive and fetishized by Europeans. With a plethora of institutions where the portraits of white nobility can be viewed in gallery upon gallery in museums across the western world, the invisibility of the Other is starkly apparent. In these galleries of historical record, it is as if white people are the only ones who are important enough to be recorded and displayed. Yes, there were artists who placed images of Black bodies on canvas, but more often than not they are there as support for the central figure who is often white.

Read more at: www.blackartinamerica.com

#blackartinamerica #blackart #blackartists #potraits

With these photographs, Box wants to address the commodification of food items exported to diasporic Caribbean communities around the world. (She named the series after a company that does this exporting.) Whereas Dutch still lifes depicted wealth and decadence, Box’s versions show how her experience as a diasporic Jamaican, who immigrated to New Jersey as a child, has itself been commodified and fabricated.

With these photographs, Box wants to address the commodification of food items exported to diasporic Caribbean communities around the world. (She named the series after a company that does this exporting.) Whereas Dutch still lifes depicted wealth and decadence, Box’s versions show how her experience as a diasporic Jamaican, who immigrated to New Jersey as a child, has itself been commodified and fabricated.

#blackart #blackartist #blackartists# blackartmatters #blackartististry #contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #contemporaryartists

#blackart #blackartist #blackartists# blackartmatters #blackartististry #contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #contemporaryartists

Introducing…Dr. Shantay Robinson!!!! Today I defended my dissertation. It was hard but very worth it. I look forward to continuing my reasearch in visual rhetoric. Thank you so much to my family whose love, support, and prayers are invaluable. To my friends who listened to my gripes during this process. And a thousand thanks to my committee Doug Eyman, Courtney Adams Wooten, and Wendi Manuel-Scott for seeing my vision and pushing me toward it. But most importantly, thank God. I couldn’t imagine this moment 24 years ago. But God saw something worth saving in me. And I’ll do my best to make all of us proud.

Introducing…Dr. Shantay Robinson!!!! Today I defended my dissertation. It was hard but very worth it. I look forward to continuing my reasearch in visual rhetoric. Thank you so much to my family whose love, support, and prayers are invaluable. To my friends who listened to my gripes during this process. And a thousand thanks to my committee Doug Eyman, Courtney Adams Wooten, and Wendi Manuel-Scott for seeing my vision and pushing me toward it. But most importantly, thank God. I couldn’t imagine this moment 24 years ago. But God saw something worth saving in me. And I’ll do my best to make all of us proud.

Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist working with various media, including photography, neon, and bronze sculpture, focusing on themes related to identity, commodification, media, and popular culture. Thomas’ early work Branded, in 2006, dealt with the commodity culture of Black bodies. His public monument in Boston, Embrace, depicting the arms of Martin Luther King, Jr. hugging Coretta Scott King, was unveiled to great criticism. The monument made Thomas’ name recognizable to those outside art circles. His other permanent sculptures at O’Hare International Airport, Miami Underline, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and several other sites all embody sentiments of love and equality. Thomas’ most recognizable public sculpture might be his large afro pick, All Power to All People, at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist working with various media, including photography, neon, and bronze sculpture, focusing on themes related to identity, commodification, media, and popular culture. Thomas’ early work Branded, in 2006, dealt with the commodity culture of Black bodies. His public monument in Boston, Embrace, depicting the arms of Martin Luther King, Jr. hugging Coretta Scott King, was unveiled to great criticism. The monument made Thomas’ name recognizable to those outside art circles. His other permanent sculptures at O’Hare International Airport, Miami Underline, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and several other sites all embody sentiments of love and equality. Thomas’ most recognizable public sculpture might be his large afro pick, All Power to All People, at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

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