![Photo by Morgan Maben. Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim [Chicago, Paris, Mexico City].](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_2400,h_2400,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/ws-marianeibrahimgallery/usr/images/news/main_image/118/lorraine-1.2.jpeg)
Photo by Morgan Maben. Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim [Chicago, Paris, Mexico City].
A new exhibition at The New School highlights Romare Bearden’s (1911–1988) work as an artist, educator, scholar, songwriter, and social activist. Drawing from the collections of the Romare Bearden Foundation, The New School, and private collectors, the exhibition presents a selection of works demonstrating Bearden’s keen exploration of race and racial stereotypes—often taking inspiration from history, literature, the Bible, jazz, and African American communities—alongside artworks from six leading and emerging contemporary Black artists: Black Quantum Futurism, Kahlil Robert Irving, Lorraine O’Grady, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, and Charisse Pearlina Weston.
One of our nation’s greatest visual artists and activists, Romare Bearden came of age during the Harlem Renaissance and was a leading voice of mid- to late twentieth-century Black struggles for political and economic justice. In his extensive and wide-ranging work, Bearden addressed the African American community’s experiences with institutionalized racism and poverty in the United States, as well as the resiliency of Black people in responding to inequality and injustice through the power of community, collective action, faith, music, and dance. The exhibition juxtaposes Bearden’s art with contemporary works by artists whose practices and values resonate with those of Bearden, and who pay direct homage to Bearden’s compositions and themes.
January 17, 2024
