The Exhibit » Artist Pairings

Artist Pairings

Twenty-five contemporary artists celebrate these groundbreaking men through their original, creative vision. From an artist’s eye, each work presents another point of view, another insight into the MEN OF CHANGE. Created for this exhibition, these works of art portray the truth of the African American experience, in history and today.

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Catalysts

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Fathering

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Alfred Conteh's depiction of Ryan Coogler

Home Team [Ryan Coogler], 2018. Alfred Conteh. Courtesy of artist Alfred Conteh and Amath Gomis.

Myth-Breakers

Alfred Conteh

Depicting Ryan Coogler

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Abstract artist's depiction of Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde, [Kehinde Wiley], 2018. Devan Shimoyama. Courtesy of the artist.

Imagining

Devan Shimoyama

Depicting Kehinde Wiley

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A cubistic portrait of Romare Bearden, a bald man wearing a traditional painter's cap on his head.

Romare Bearden [Romare Bearden], 2018. Patrick Earl Hammie. Courtesy of the artist.

Imagining

Patrick Earl Hammie

Depicting Romare Bearden

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A collage with a man seated in a street, with the main focal point being a bunch of bright red roses.

Light Side Dark Side [Dick Gregory], 2018. Shaunté Gates. Courtesy of the artist.

Storytellers

Shaunté Gates

Depicting Dick Gregory

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A series of three black & white photos of African Americans, with the left & right containing images of crowds and marches, and the middle photo being of a young boy in a tanktop.

[Bob Moses], undated. Andre D. Wagner, photographer. Courtesy of the artist.

Catalysts

Andre Wagner

Depicting Bob Moses

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A portrait of an African American man in a grey suit and glasses, with a background of brown gradients and a foreground appearing almost incomplete with a very pale grey.

[Michael Seibel] 2018. Jas Knight. Courtesy of the artist.

Catalysts

Jas Knight

Depicting Michael Seibel

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A photo and mixed-media collage portrait of an African American family: one man, one woman, and one child.

Sankofa [Carter G. Woodson], 2018. Nate Lewis. Courtesy of the artist.

Storytellers

Nate Lewis

Depicting Carter G. Woodson

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A collage of paper cut-outs on parchment of the history of the African American experience in the United States of America.

Finding Bayard aka Double or Nothin' [Bayard Rustin], 2018. Sissòn. Courtesy of Stephanie Bridger and artist Sissòn.

Imagining

Sissòn

Depicting Bayard Rustin

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On a grassy hillside, a wooden framework the size of a shed contains a band of blue fabric, a rocking chair and a white parasol.

[Alvin Ailey], 2022. Holly Bass. Courtesy of the artist.

Storytellers

Holly Bass

Depicting Alvin Ailey

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Colorful artistic depiction of Charles Bolden

Charles Bolden Portrait [Charles Bolden], 2018. Bráulio Amado. Courtesy of the artist.

Myth-Breakers

Bráulio Amado

Depicting Charles Bolden

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Artist's depiction of John H. Johnson

Illustration of John H. Johnson, [John H. Johnson], 2018. Joe Prytherch. Mason London is an illustrator from London.

Storytellers

Joe Prytherch

Depicting John Johnson

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A collection of items in a glass box. An open book, the bottom half covered in dirt, a small black statue next to a glass jar of locusts, a sculpted black hand holding a flier of some kind.

Lost and Found [August Wilson], 2013. Radcliffe Bailey. © Radcliffe Bailey. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Storytellers

Radcliffe Bailey

Depicting August Wilson

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A multicolored painting on a black backdrop, displayed beneath a wooden pallet painted black.

We will never die (Goldlink) [Dr. Rob Gore], 2018. Tariku Shiferaw. Courtesy of the artist.

Community

Tariku Shiferaw

Depicting Dr. Rob Gore

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A collage portrait of Kendrick Lamar, as if he is peering through bars or a window, the bars being made of roads with cars on them.

Figure in the Urban Landscape #25 (portrait of Kendrick Lamar) [Kendrick Lamar], 2018. Derrick Adams. Courtesy of the artist.

Myth-Breakers

Derrick Adams

Depicting Kendrick Lamar

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Black canvas dotted with white; a sparkling abyss.

Black Excellence [Catalysts], 2018. Knowledge Bennett. Courtesy of the artist.

Catalysts

Knowledge Bennett

Depicting Catalysts

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A black & white portrait of an African American man, his face overlaid with stippling white stripes forming diamond shapes.

Paragon [Charles Hamilton Houston], 2018. Paul Anthony Smith. © Paul Anthony Smith. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Community

Paul Anthony Smith

Depicting Charles Hamilton Houston

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A young African American man in a hoodie, sweatpants and tennis shoes stands in a pink-tinged room gazing down at his hands.

Godchild [Duke Ellington/John Coltrane/Miles Davis/ Louis Armstrong], 2018. AG Rojas. Courtesy of the artist.

Imagining

AG Rojas

Depicting Duke Ellington/John Coltrane/Miles Davis/Louis Armstrong

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An artist's depiction of Muhammad Ali

Know Your Right [Muhammad Ali/Cleveland Summit], 2018. David Alekhuogie. Courtesy of the artist.

Catalysts

David Alekhuogie

Depicting Muhammad Ali/Cleveland Summit

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Artist's depiction of Andrew Young

Untitled [Andrew Young], 2018. Nina Chanel Abney. © Nina Chanel Abney. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Fathering

Nina Chanel Abney

Depicting Andrew Young

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A portrait of a woman in a red shirt and patterned apron, her head hidden by a folded map.

Monumental [Ta-Nehisi Coates], 2018. Robert Pruitt. Courtesy of the artist and Koplin Del Rio, Seattle.

Myth-Breakers

Robert Pruitt

Depicting Ta-Nehisi Coates

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A collage of images on a metallic checkerboard background.

In the Wake [Shaka Senghor], 2018. Troy Michie. Courtesy of the artist.

Myth-Breakers

Troy Michie

Depicting Shaka Senghor

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5 images in a row, the center image of an African American man, the remaining four of white people in white parade outfits performing in black face.

A person is more important than anything else… [James Baldwin], 2014. © Hank Willis Thomas. Courtesy of the artist & Jack Shainman Gallery, NY.

Imagining

Hank Willis Thomas

Depicting James Baldwin

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A multimedia sculpture of a man's head, his face hidden on either side with fogged plexiglass, etched with text that appears to read: [YOU] ONLY SEE W[HAT YOU] WANT TO S[EE].

Seen [Robert F. Smith], 2018. Mario Moore. Courtesy of the artist.

Fathering

Mario Moore

Depicting Robert F. Smith

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A water-color painting of a pair of African American hands.

Champion [LeBron James], 2018. Shaun Leonardo. Courtesy of the artist.

Community

Shaun Leonardo

Depicting Lebron James

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Two tall framed pieces, the left narrower than the right, featuring silver background with light white lines forming bounding boxes of various sizes.

Lede Paragraph [W.E.B. Du Bois], Jelsen Lee Innocent, 2018, Courtesy of the artist.

Storytellers

Jelsen Lee Innocent

Depicting W.E.B. Du Bois

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