Kerry James Marshall

Kerry James Marshall is a prominent contemporary artist whose work engages with Western art history, from the Renaissance to 20th-century American Abstraction, challenging and recontextualizing the canon to address themes and depictions historically omitted from mainstream narratives. Marshall foregrounds Black subjects in his paintings, addressing what he describes as "the lack in the image bank" and contributing to ongoing conversations about representation in visual art.

Born in Birmingham during the American Civil Rights movement and later relocating to the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles before the Watts riots, Marshall draws inspiration from his personal history and broader elements of the American experience. His work reflects on social, political, and cultural issues, often exploring the intersections of race, identity, and art history.

Marshall's career spans five decades. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Otis Art Institute, he began exhibiting regularly on the West Coast and held his first solo show at Jack Shainman Gallery. His first traveling exhibition, "Telling Stories," opened at the Cleveland Museum of Art and was followed by exhibitions such as "Mementos" at the Renaissance Society in Chicago and "Along The Way" at Camden Arts Center in London.

Marshall has been the subject of major touring exhibitions, including "Mastry" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, which traveled to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. He has also participated in European surveys at Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen, Antoni Tapies Foundation in Barcelona, and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. Additional solo exhibitions have been held at Vienna Secession and the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Marshall's work has been featured in group exhibitions, biennials, and public commissions, including the Venice Biennale, Carnegie International, and Documenta. He received a MacArthur Grant and has been commissioned to create stained glass windows for the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Marshall's paintings and artworks are included in public collections at institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Birmingham Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Harvard Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Studio Museum in Harlem, Tate Modern, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Yale University Art Gallery.