#africobra

#bornOnThisDay Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017) was an African-American artist best known for her work with the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC) and for co-founding the artists' collective AfriCOBRA. Via Wikipedia #PalianSHOW

Barbara Jones-Hogu April 17, 1938 – November 14, 2017was an African-American artist best known for her work with the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC) and for co-founding the artists’ collective AfriCOBRA. Via Wikipedia (photo) Jones-Hogu worked in a variety of printing techniques, including woodcuts, etchings, lithographs, and screen prints. Her work dealt directly with social and…

“Portrait of Shirley Chisholm” (2022).

Otherworldly Vistas and Noble Portraits Celebrate Life’s Mysteries in Sherman Beck’s Vibrant Paintings

One of the original ten members of the groundbreaking Chicago-based artist collective AFRICOBRA founded in 1968, Sherman Beck paints vibrant portrayals of Black family, ancestry, and community that celebrate the wonder and mysticism of everyday life. In a retrospective at Kavi Gupta, paintings made during the past five decades explore themes of cultural identity, multidimensional time and space, and the origins of life.

“The Boat” (2012)

“Untitled” (2022)

Jeff Donaldson, a major figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s, created this screenprint of his parents in the style of the AfriCOBRA group, using bright colors and symbols of Pan-African identity. Along with the Ankh at his mother’s collar and the Kente cloth pattern on his father’s suspenders, Donaldson invokes the Yorùbá deity Eshu, a god connected to chance and fate. The six-pointed star held by his mother represents a kind of crossroads, with each point showing a different path forward. In the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders, Donaldson looked to his heritage for guidance while also rooting himself firmly in the political moment. He believed art could help make a path to the future, and wrote, “Look for us there, because that’s where we’re at.”

In honor of Black History Month, and in conjunction with the exhibition John Edmonds: A Sidelong Glance, we are highlighting contemporary artists in our collection whose work speaks to the complexity and beauty of Black American heritage.