Today’s contemporary art world has been greatly influenced by a number of talented Black women artists whose intriguing and innovative masterpieces have captivated many people. Their works can be found in some of the best contemporary art museums of the world and institutions globally, and are celebrated for their distinctive perspectives on some very important subject matters, including racial discrimination, feminism, historical perspective and cultural identity.
Here are five internationally renowned black female artists who have shown extraordinary originality, influence, and novelty in today’s fine art scene:
Kara Walker
Kara Walker is one of the most famous Black artists working today. Many know Walker for her provocative silhouette pieces on race, gender and violence. Walker utilizes a variety of media in her works, including drawing, watercolor video and sculpture. Her work has been shown at prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, Kunstmuseum Basel and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The subject of considerable controversy resulting from its size and character, “A Subtlety,” Walker’s monumental sculpture in the Domino Sugar Factory, has gone far towards raising discussions about slavery both in the past and the present, as well as debates over racial justice in America. With her drawings, she tries to go back and illustrate the saga of what it means to be Black in America.
Faith Ringgold
Faith Ringgold is one of America’s most important narrative quilt artists and is also known for her paintings that explore themes of justice in American history, particularly for Black people. Rinngold mentioned several times that she arrived in the art scene through activism, demanding that the art world accept women and artists of color, who were completely absent from the picture then. Her work is connected with such approaches as feminism, postcolonial critique, and activism to focus on such topics as rumors and gossip, censorship, and even particular art forms such as painting, sculpture, performance and quilting. Notable works include “Flag for the Moon” (1969), “Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima” (1983) and “American People Series #20: for example, without regard to the requests of the other party, the female character kills herself in his “Diet” (1967). The goal that accrued to Ringgold was to look for a means of expressing the violence and killing underway and share the message on the problem of race as an African-American female artist. Presently the prominent art collections, her pieces include are in The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Baltimore Museum of Art and so on.
Carrie Mae Weems
Carrie Mae Weems’ works include photography and video projects, containing signs of her own life and involvement with activism. Through her paintings, which she uses as a framing device, Weems shines light on historical events. Her 2016 collaborative performance “Grace Notes: Reflections for Now” explores the theme of grace amidst Black oppression. Some of her well-known works are “Constructing History,” and “Roaming” series, a critique approach to monumental constructions. The recent ones are “Reflections for Now” which were showcased at Barbican Art Gallery and “The Evidence of Things Not Seen” which were featured at Kunstmuseum Basel. The story that oppressed people, as can be inferred from the title of the exhibition, placed focus on the issues of social hierarchy and racism. Weems is a lady who has been honored with many awards such as the MacArthur Fellowship, she has her artworks collected in various museums globally including MoMA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA), Guggenheim Museum New York and many others.
Lorna Simpson
Another big name that has been in the contemporary art world for decades is Lorna Simpson. Simpson practices conceptual photography and her other multimedia works focus on exploring race, culture and identity. Simpson’s art is also associated with postcolonial and feminist critique. In 1986, she received extensive attention for her photographic series Twenty Questions (A Sampler), which asks important questions regarding the importance of image in society. Simpson’s art continues to challenge viewers to think outside of societal and cultural norms.Today, her works are held in the collections of MoMA, Guggenheim Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Njideka Akunyili Crosby
For the Nigerian artist, combining photography and painting truly allows her to share her transnational narrative. Her hyper-detailed paintings and complex compositions are displayed in such galleries as Tate Modern and the National Museum of African Art. Represented by David Zwirner since 2018, she had a solo exhibition under the curation of the Pulitzer Prize winning Hilton Als in the Yale Center for British Art in 2022. Works of Crosby are in the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art, MoMA, and Yale University Art Gallery.
Photo Credit: “Jean Cooney walks us through Kara Walker’s show” by NewYorkArtsPracticum.