A new large-scale exhibition of contemporary Black and African diasporic art has opened its doors at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) under the title “The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure.” The symbolism of the exhibition’s title points to the urgency and never-ending propriety of celebrating the contribution of Black artists to the evolution of the contemporary artistic landscape.
The exhibition features 60+ paintings, drawings, and sculptures by dozens of established artists who have dedicated their art to the celebration of the contemporary Black life diversity and Black people’s unique experiences.
The exhibits are grouped into three overarching themes: Our Aliveness, Past and Presence, and Double Consciousness. Our Aliveness celebrates the representation of Black heritage in contemporary lifestyle and the richness of Black community expressions. Past and Presence scrutinizes the absence of Black figures in mainstream art of the past and its reintroduction in the present. Double Consciousness explores the Black experience through the philosophical prism of W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory of the duality of the Black psyche.
Must-See Highlights of “The Time Is Always Now”
The glorious lineup of the exhibition includes works by well-known Black artists, such as Michael Armitage, Claudette Johnson, Kerry James Marshall, and Amy Sherald, among others, lent from the National Portrait Gallery in London. Other celebrity names include Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Robert Lugo, and Danielle Mckinney.
The visitors can also enjoy Amy Sherald’s famous painting She Was Learning to Love Moments, to Love Moments for Themselves (2017), created in the artist’s signature bright-color style to render a unique effect of fused memories, history, and imagination in contemporary portraiture. Among other highlights are Collide (2019) by Lorna Simpson, a conceptual photo with overlapping Black female images creating a unique multi-dimensional effect, the 2015 painting James by Jordan Casteel, and Kind of Blue (2020) by Claudette Johnson, which represents a unique reconceptualization of the reclined figure’s iconography in traditional art.
Fine Art Shippers Is Attending the Exhibition as the PMA’s Partner
Fine Art Shippers, a corporate partner of the PMA, is invited for the Corporate Donor Appreciation Days that will be held on December 13-16, 2024. We’re excited about the opportunity to attend the exhibition that unifies so many established artists and artworks scattered across the world’s largest art capitals in one place. As avid appreciators of contemporary art and the PMA partner, we’re grateful to the Museum for the invitation. We will be pleased to attend the planned events, including “The Time Is Always Now,” which is on view through February 8, 2025.