SINCE 1999, PAMELA J. JOYNER and Alfred J. Giuffrida have focused their collecting on abstract art by artists of African descent. Nearing 100 artists, the collection is documented in a hefty volume, “Four Generations: The Joyner / Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art,” and a traveling exhibition. After touring four museums, “Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection” arrived at the Baltimore Museum of Art expanded and transformed. The new version of the exhibition is titled “Generations: A History of Black Abstract Art.” Presented as a series of conversations, duets, and solo shows, the exhibition tells a fascinating story about the lineage of black artists who since the post-war era have chosen to express themselves through abstraction. A formidable group opens the show: Jack Whitten, Martin Puryear, Mark Bradford, and Julie Mehretu. Bradford and Puryear presented back-to-back solo shows in the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, in 2017 and 2019, respectively. A major traveling, mid-career survey of Mehretu opened recently at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. At auction, works by Mehretu are the most expensive by a black woman, living or dead. Whitten, whose broader acclaim came in his final years, had a solo show at the Baltimore […]
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