Contemporary African American art, "30 Americans" at DIA, Detroit

30 Americans 
The Detroit Institute of Arts 
October 18, 2015 - January 18, 2016

Barkley L. Hendricks 

Noir, 1978

Oil and acrylic on canvas. 

Courtesy of Rubell Family Collection, Miami

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), one of the premier art museums in the US, presents “30 Americans,” a dynamic exhibition of contemporary art by African American artists, on view Oct. 18, 2015–Jan. 18, 2016. “30 Americans” includes 55 paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs and videos by many of the most important African American artists who rose to prominence during recent decades by exploring racial, gender, political and historical identity in contemporary culture.

Jean-Michel Basquiat 

Bird On Money, 1981

Acrylic and oil on canvas. 

Courtesy of Rubell Family Collection, Miami 

Among the renowned artists included are Barkley Hendricks, Kerry James Marshall, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson and the late Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Colescott. Their influence on a younger generation can be seen in the works of artists such as Kehinde Wiley, Nick Cave, Mickalene Thomas and Kara Walker.

Rashid Johnson 

The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club (Thurgood), 2008

Lambda print, Ed. 2/5. 

Courtesy of Rubell Family Collection, Miami 

The exhibition is organized around several artistic approaches used by the artists to explore identity: defying Western art traditions; portraying black subjects as real people as opposed to types; sampling multiple sources of inspiration, from historical material to found objects; freestyling by adopting improvisational and expressionistic styles to demonstrate creative and technical virtuosity; signifying through the use of symbols, materials and images that imply or trigger associations about gender, race, religion, class and sexuality; transforming the body’s appearance to examine the relationship between societal assumptions and identity; and confronting American history regarding race, racism and power in the United States.

This exhibition is drawn from the acclaimed Rubell Family Collection, Miami.

Artists in the exhibition

Nina Chanel Abney (1982)
John Bankston (1963)
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988)
Mark Bradford (1968)
Iona Rozeal Brown (1966)
Nick Cave (1959)
Robert Colescott (1925 - 2009)
Noah Davis (1983)
Leonardo Drew (1961)
Renée Green (1959)
David Hammons (1943)
Barkley L. Hendricks (1945)
Rashid Johnson (1977)
Glenn Ligon (1960)
Kalup Linzy (1977)
Kerry James Marshall (1955)
Rodney McMillian (1969)
Wangechi Mutu (1972)
William Pope.L (1955)
Gary Simmons (1964)
Xaviera Simmons (1974)
Lorna Simpson (1960)
Shinique Smith (1971)
Jeff Sonhouse (1968)
Henry Taylor (1958)
Hank Willis Thomas (1976)
Mickalene Thomas (1971)
Kara Walker (1969)
Carrie Mae Weems (1953)
Kehinde Wiley (1977)
Purvis Young (1943 - 2010)

Detroit Institute of Arts 
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202
www.dia.org

Mary Kim - Exhibition at MONA

Mary Kim, Oblique Structure: Odradek Tower. Drawings and Models

Detroit' Museum of New Art, November 13 - December 18, 2004

Mary Kim, a Cranbrook graduate and instructor at the College for Creative Studies, takes center stage at MONA with her colorful geometric towers, some of steel and some of wood. Simple yet complex, her painted pieces change as you move around the gallery, revealing hidden negative spaces and subtle shifts in color that are engaging.

MONA - MUSEUM OF NEW ART
7 N. Saginaw St.
Pontiac, Michigan 48342

Young Artists Exhibition at MONA in Detroit, Michigan

Museum of New Art, Pontiac, Michigan

The Museum of New Art's (MONA) new show reveals more than meets the eye. Head to the museum's Pontiac complex to see "The Next Big Thing", featuring new work by young artists, working in all disciplines.

Some standouts include Cynthia Randolph's studies of time and timing depicted in a series of digital photographs. One chronicles one day of urine flushing down toilet bowls, resulting in a grid of colors and gradations in light that don't look anything like what they are. Another work discovers the beauty of a surgical mask, light and disposable but able to protect from disease. The artist previous exhibition includes two National Scholastic Exhibit at Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washingthon, DC, in 1992 and 1994, A Sculpture Show at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1998) and two exhibits at Melting Point Gallery, San Francisco, California in 2001 and 2003.

Roland Lusk has created a room installation that takes you into a verdant yet somewhat sickly forest. Leaves of green fabric are suspended from the ceiling and stuck on the walls along with painted white tree fungus and antlers. The walls are papered in an oversized digital print - a cowhide tinted grass-green.

Michelle Hinebrook creates highly textured and veiled paintings – some pure abstractions, others with hidden figures – on tiles covered with netting culled from produce bags found on fruits and vegetables.

Other artists' include Kelly Rosebrock who has captured "fingerprints" of individual cell phones in her sparse, colorful photographs; Narine Kchikian, who curated the show, has created a minimalist room installation where illusions come into play; Georgia Vandewater, who creates paintings in vinyl that are variations on Da Vinci's "Circle of Man"; the artist Unholy Erection has created a funhouse of gender coding in his installation of photos and video; and Gabriel Hillebrand whose work in the Annex on the first floor combines grids, string  and books into a playful sculpture.

THE NEXT BIG THING
November 13 - December 18, 2004

MONA - MUSEUM OF NEW ART, DETROIT
7 N. Saginaw St.
Pontiac, Michigan 48342

Punch’s Progress: A Century of American Puppetry Exhibition

Punch's Progress: A Century of American Puppetry

Traveling Detroit Institute of Arts Exhibition

Venues: September 2000 - April 2002

Dancing on nimble fingers or twirling from strings, puppets have taught and entertained generations from America's earliest days. The Detroit Institute of Arts traces this amazing trajectory in Punch's Progress: A Century of American Puppetry. Touring statewide, the exhibition provides an opportunity to enjoy the history, wonder and artistry of puppets. Punch's Progress is one of many traveling exhibitions the museum organizes to help fulfill its mission of extending its reach to various communities.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is home to one of the most historically important puppet collections in North America. Drawn from the critically acclaimed Paul McPharlin Collection, this exhibition includes fanciful marionettes, rod, hand and shadow puppets that delight audiences and reveal the importance of American puppetry and puppeteers. Included are diverse works, ranging from American wooden puppets to elegant marionettes of popular icons, such as entertainer Josephine Baker, skater Sonja Henie and former President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Punch's baby.

Puppet shows were popular in frontier America, and by the turn of the century elaborately detailed figures performed to live audiences in music halls. Professional puppet troupes toured the vaudeville theater circuit, often accompanied by full orchestras. During the 1920s, puppetry became recognized and appreciated by educational and arts organizations, and classic literature was often performed. During the late 1930s to early 1940s, cabaret puppetry for adults was popular, and the first puppets for a growing new medium, television, were created. Puppetry quickly became popular mass entertainment, often directed at children. Punch's Progress explores the wonder and evolution of this popular art.

Punch's Progress: A Century of American Puppetry will appear in the following venues:

Muskegon Museum of Art, September 7 - October 22, 2000

Detroit Institute of Arts, November 19 - December 31, 2000

Meadow Brook Art Gallery, January 12 - February 25, 2001

Port Huron Museum, May 5 - June 24, 2001

Ella Sharp Museum, November 17, 2001 - January 13, 2002

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, February 1 - April 28, 2002

This exhibition was organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts and is supported by a generous grant from the Consumers Energy Foundation. Additional support provided by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the City of Detroit.

DIA’s News: Creation of the GM Center for African American Art at Detroit Institute of Arts

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Creation of a Center for African American Art in Detroit, Michigan

Museum News > Michigan > Detroit > Detroit Institute of Arts

The creation of the General Motors Center for African American Art was announced by the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) as a new curatorial department and resource center at the museum. The Center is named in recognition of a $5 million donation from the General Motors Foundation to the DIA's capital campaign.

The Center will act as an independent department within the museum's existing structure, and will be staffed by a curator, assistant curator and administrative assistant. A national search for staff is currently underway.

"The development of the General Motors Center for African American Art is a natural extension of the DIA's commitment to African American art, and will provide a stimulating new dimension to our collections," said Graham W.J. Beal, director of the DIA. "We intend to create a center of excellence in this area, which will prove to be an invaluable resource for scholars and collectors, as it will house a specialized library related to works by African American artists."

The Center is a testament to the DIA's and GM's commitment to serving the community. "General Motors is dedicated to recognizing the achievements and influence of African Americans," said General Motors vice president and chief financial officer, Michael Losh. "GM is proud to support this extraordinary Center that will enrich and expand the breadth of the museum in both culture and importance."

Early emphasis will be on research that will lead to special exhibitions, lectures and symposia. Additionally, the Center will provide a place where talented African American students can gain valuable experience in a stimulating environment to prepare them for an art museum career.

"I've spoken with Christy Matthews, director of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and we agreed that there could be interesting opportunities for collaboration," Beal said. "While it is difficult to be specific at this early stage, these might include loans of art to parallel exhibitions, joint educational initiatives, and mutual programming around exhibitions."

With a solid core of artistic expertise, intellectual acumen, a powerfully growing collection and a vitally interested local community, the DIA expects the Center will quickly gain national prominence and become a leading contributor to the field of study in African American art. The Center's work will be disseminated through publications such as exhibition catalogues and seminar proceedings.

The DIA is located at 5200 Woodward Avenue in the University Cultural Center in Detroit, Michigan.

DIA’s upcoming exhibition: Punch's Progress: A Century of American Puppetry

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