Bearden and his contemporary Jacob Lawrence, whose subject matter was similar, were the most renowned African American artists of their time. It wasn’t until 1964, when he started making collages inspired by the rituals and rhythms of African American life, that he achieved acclaim. The 1960 canvas Strange Land, included in the Houston show, would be unrecognizable to most viewers as a work by Bearden. From the mainstream art world, it’s just the sense of not being preoccupied with what black artists are doing, period.” “Oftentimes abstract painting is not as celebrated as more figurative work by the black community.
“There was this manifesto with the Black Arts Movement that you did work that reflected the beauty of that community in no uncertain terms,” she says, referring to a group that coalesced in the 1960s to promote social and political engagement in art and literature. “You find these artists being marginalized on both ends of the spectrum,” Cassel Oliver continues. She placed younger artists, including Jones, Shinique Smith, and Angel Otero, in dialogue with members of the older generation, such as Felrath Hines, Alma Thomas, and Romare Bearden, who were producing seminal works in the 1960s. “Generations of black abstract painters never seem to be celebrated,” says Valerie Cassel Oliver, senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, where she recently organized “ Black in the Abstract,” a two-part exhibition that focused on the history of African American painters working in abstraction. The contributions of African American artists to the inventions of abstract painting have historically been overlooked, or else fraught with the kind of questions faced by Jones.
©ODILI DONALD ODITA/COURTESY THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK The Nigerian-born Odili’s zigzagging shards of vibrant color suggest colliding cultures and emotions.
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