Barbara Jones–Hogu (b. 1938), Unite, 1971, screen print, 22 1/2 x 30 in., © Barbara Jones-Hogu, Collection of National Museum of African American History and Culture, Museum purchase, TR2008-24.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH)’s exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, previously scheduled to run from April to June, will now open on June 27 and be on view until August 30. The Great Lockdown of 2020 delayed the opening of Soul at the MFAH, which is its final stop on its three-year tour, organized by the Tate Modern in London.
Soul features works by more than 60 black artists, made between the 1960s and the 1980s, and is presented in sections that follow themes around how its artists worked together in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Another part of the presentation focuses on the work of Betye Saar.
Some notable artists in the exhibition include Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Roy DeCarava, David Hammons, Lorraine O’Grady, Faith Ringgold and Dana C. Chandler, whose work appears below.
“Fred Hampton’s Door II, 1974,” by Dana C. Chandler. Photo Credit-Christopher Blay.
In addition, the MFAH will add a section from its own collection of art made by black American artists in Houston and Texas during the period covered by the exhibition, including works by John Biggers, Kermit Oliver, and Carroll Harris Simms.
The exhibition, which travelled to the Broad in LA last summer, is complimented by a Spotify playlist of the same title arranged by musician and producer Quincy Jones. To listen, please go here.
For more information on Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, please visit the MFAH’s website here.
‘Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power’ | June 27–August 30, 2020
MFAH’s Audrey Jones Beck Building, 5601 Main Street, Houston
