The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure on View through Feb. 9

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Contemporary artists shine in The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure.

Artist Thomas J. Price has a work on view called As Sound Turned to Noise, which is made of bronze and stands nine feet tall.

"There are 28 Black and African diasporic artists, primarily based within the United States and United Kingdom," says Yocari De Los Santos, Constance E. Clayton Curatorial Fellow with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "A lot of the works actually on display are relatively new, made within the 21st century."

Six of those artists, showcasing 22 of their works, were added to the stateside premiere in Philadelphia.

"It was originally conceived by the British writer and curator Ekow Eshun for the National Portrait Gallery in London," says De Los Santos.

Now, there are about 65 works in all on view.

De Los Santos says artists are looking at the Black figure through different perspectives and mediums.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby has a painting on display titled, Still You Bloom in the Land of No Gardens, which features the artist, herself, with her child.

The expansive exhibition covers three themes. The first is 'Double Consciousness'.

"'Double Consciousness' is a word coined by W. E. B. Du Bois in 1897," says De Los Santos. "A lot of the artists in this section, they both confront the white gaze, but look beyond it."

Artists in this section include Amy Sherald and Kerry James Marshall, just to name a few.

The 'Past and Presence' theme explores history.

"Up until the 20th century, largely white artists, white perspective, dominated how the figure was portrayed," says De Los Santos.

Philadelphia-based artist, Roberto Lugo is featured in this section, reframing the work, Madonna and Child. Lugo's work is titled Maribel and Child, named and modeled after his mother.

"What artists do in this section is they kind of confront that history, so you have some artists looking at 17th and 18th century paintings," says De Los Santos.

The third theme is 'Our Aliveness'.

"Artists, literally, describing the Black in every day," says De Los Santos.

She says the artists capture the "richness and complexity of Black life."

"Behind the backdrop and the context that sometimes within, whenever Black presence is visible, with either in private or in public places, can sometimes face animosity or even violence," says De Los Santos.

The tour ends in the reflection and response room.

"I invite people to come into the show," says De Los Santos. "And look through the lens of these artists."

The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure is on view through February 9 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure / https://philamuseum.org/calendar/exhibition/the-time-is-always-now

Link to Tickets at Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) / https://philamuseum.org/time-is-always-now-tickets-events

Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130