PUBLIC TALK: Lesley Martin
Saturday, May 27 | 11 am
Photo print, 40 x 30 in. © Tyler Mitchell. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 30 x 20 in. © Jamal Nxedlana. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 24 x 19 in. © Campbell Addy. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 24 x 16 in. © Ruth Ossai. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 30 x 40 in. © Dana Scruggs. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 36 x 27 in. © Stephen Tayo. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 30 x 20 in. © Arielle Bobb-Willis. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 20 x 15 ⅜ in. © Adrienne Raquel. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 24 x 18 in. © Micaiah Carter. Courtesy of Aperture.
Photo print, 46 x 30 ½ in. © Quil Lemons. Courtesy of Aperture.
The NEW BLACK VANGUARD
PHOTOGRAPHY between ART and FASHION
May 28 - September 17, 2023
The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion presents artists whose vibrant portraits and conceptual images fuse the genres of art and fashion photography in ways that break down long-established boundaries. Their work has been widely consumed in traditional lifestyle magazines, ad campaigns, and museums, as well as on their individual social-media channels, reinfusing the contemporary visual vocabulary around beauty and the body with new vitality and substance. The images open up conversations around the representation of the Black body and Black lives as subject matter; collectively, they celebrate Black creativity and the cross-pollination between art, fashion, and culture in constructing an image. Seeking to challenge the idea that Blackness is homogenous, the works serve as a form of visual activism. It’s a perspective often seen from this loose movement of thriving talents, who are creating photography in vastly different contexts—New York and Johannesburg, Lagos and London. The results—often made in collaboration with Black stylists and fashion designers—present new perspectives on the medium of photography and the notions of race and beauty, gender and power.
Curated by Antwaun Sargent, a renowned writer, editor, and curator based in New York City, this exhibition includes select works from these groundbreaking contemporary photographers: Campbell Addy, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Micaiah Carter, Awol Erizku, Quil Lemons, Namsa Leuba, Renell Medrano, Tyler Mitchell, Jamal Nxedlana, Daniel Obasi, Ruth Ossai, Adrienne Raquel, Dana Scruggs, and Stephen Tayo. A salon wall also features images created by other young Black photographers contributing to this movement while simultaneously proposing a brilliant reenvisioned future.
The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion is organized by Aperture and is curated by Antwaun Sargent.
The exhibition is made possible, in part, by Airbnb Magazine.
This exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum is made possible, in part, with generous support from:
Platinum Sponsor
Shari and John Hicks
Silver Sponsor
Ernie Kretzmer and the Kretzmer Family Charitable Foundation
Katherine and Frank Martucci
Programs
Curator’s Tour: The New Black Vanguard and Stephanie J. Woods
Tuesday, June 13 | 11 am
Art at Noon – June
Tuesday, June 20 | 12 pm – 1 pm
Director’s Tour: The New Black Vanguard and Stephanie J. Woods
Saturday, June 24 | 11 am