At Large  January 10, 2025  Anna Claire Mauney

11 Contemporary Black Artists You Should Know

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Author: anna

Throughout history, countless ethnic groups and marginalized people have not been given the attention they deserve from the art world. This slideshow is dedicated to black, contemporary artists that we believe our readers should know more about. Many of these artists' works both acknowledge the art world's exclusionary history and subvert it. The artworks highlighted here span drawing, painting, quilting, and sculptural practice.

Additionally, links are provided to connect readers to more information about these artists and their work.

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Courtesy of the artist.
Girl sits in child-like pose in white dress and red shoes. toys lay on the ground to her left.
Philemona Williamson
Philemona Williamson, Red Buckled Shoes, 2014. Oil on linen. 48 x 60 inches.

Philemona Williamson’s paintings often read as childhood or adolescent memories captured with vibrant oils on linen. The artist is not afraid to operate outside of the art critic’s desire for work that is easy to interpret or easily categorized as ‘black artwork.' Despite exhibiting with big-name contemporaries including Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, and Whitfield Lovell, her work is not as well-known as it should be.

Uniquely referential, her work is tied to a personal visual language that features items such as clothing and toys that are either from or reminiscent of the artist's own childhood. With upcoming solo exhibitions in San Francisco and NYC, Williamson continues to make work from her home in East Orange and studio in Upper Montclair, New Jersey.

About the Author

Anna Claire Mauney

Anna Claire Mauney is the former managing editor for Art & Object. A writer and artist living in North Carolina, she is interested in illustration, the 18th-century, and viceregal South America. She is also the co-host of An Obsessive Nature, a podcast about writing and pop culture.