Hasta La Ideas

Since 1968, The Studio Museum in Harlem has been a center for and a champion of Black art and Black culture. The new book Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem contextualizes select artwork from the institution’s collection, which includes pieces by Faith Ringgold, Kerry James Marshall, Norman Lewis, Lorna Simpson and others. Authors Connie H Choi, Thelma Golden and Kellie Jones discuss the thematic and procedural processes in curating Black art, include essays by art historians and collectors (like Eliza A Butler, Akili Tommasino, Taylor Aldridge, Larry Ossei Mensah and Daniela Fifi) and feature 125 artworks. Together, the book pays historical homage to the multiplicities of identities and techniques in African-American art, tracing works in various mediums from the 1930s to today.