Kerry James Marshall, in the Tàpies Foundation
The North American artist’s first extensive European exhibition can be seen from the 11th of June to the 26th of October
In his first extensive European exhibition, the works of North American artist Kerry James Marshall combine the exigencies of the Afro-American community with technical complexity. Born in Alabama and influenced by Afro-American civil rights movements, the artist both denounces and offers a reflection on the absence of the figure of the Afro-American artist in Western art; an absence that is portrayed, for example, by his use of silhouettes of African-American figures on dark backgrounds, a combination of presence and absence. His use of a variety of techniques, on the other hand, is the result of his interest in both art history and popular culture, in particular comics and film.
The exhibition is divided between the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, in Madrid, and the Tàpies Foundation in Barcelona, where the artist’s more recent, interdisciplinary pieces will be on display, including paintings, photographs, video, etchings, installations and other diverse objects. The artist’s own pieces are complemented by a collection of images, also owned by the artist, relating to the representation of the Afro-American community in art and culture.
The exhibition can be seen in the Tàpies Foundation from the 11th of June to the 26th of October.