Jenkins Johnson Gallery

Join us and @Observer at 1pm PT / 4pm ET on Oct 27 for the Zoom Webinar, "Invigorating the Arts Industry: 2020 and Beyond." @kjenkinsjohnson will be speaking with panelists @AnnEllegood, Executive Director of @theICALA, @AlexPaik, Founder and Director of #TigerStrikesAsteroid, and Susanne Vielmetter, Owner and Director of @vielmetter, moderated by @helenh0lmes, Observer's Culture Reporter. Listen in as we discuss how leaders are considering and implementing next steps, and how this exceptional time will change arts institutions in the future. Register at businessofart.observer.com. #observer #artspowerlist50 #equityinthearts #anneellegood #icala #alexpaik #karenjenkinsjohnson #jenkinsjohnsongallery #susannevielmetter #vielmetterla #culturesector #artworld #artindustry

Join us this Friday, July 31, 3pm (EST)/12pm (PST) for our Conversations on Culture with Antwaun Sargent, independent writer, curator, and critic! Be sure to RSVP so you don’t miss this one: https://bit.ly/AntwaunSargent - Antwaun Sargent is a writer, curator and critic living and working in New York City. - His writing has appeared in the New York Times, New Yorker, New York Review of Books, W, Vogue and other publications. ... - He has contributed to essays in museums and gallery publications on Ed Clark, Mickalene Thomas, Arthur Jafa, Deborah Roberts and Yinka Shonibare, among other artists. - Sargent has lectured and participated in public conversations with artists at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, MCA Denver, Art Gallery of Ontario and Harvard and Yale universities. - He has also co-organized a number of exhibitions including The Way We Live Now at Aperture, Then and Now: Chase Hall and Cameron Welch at Jenkins Johnson Projects, and the traveling exhibition, Young, Gifted and Black. - The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion is his first book and is shortlisted for the Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards.

TOMORROW is the last day to view gallery artist highlight Margaret Bowland Portraits: Strength and Vulnerability. GILT is one of the available works in our viewing room. - According to Margaret, the title has a double meaning. Even though the subject is covered in gold like protective armor, his face still shows great vulnerability when being asked to show courage. - One of the subjects wears a necklace made out of five dollar bills to resemble the gold braided necklaces... worn in Straight Outta Compton. Margaret learned that this group of boys in her neighborhood believed themselves to be soldiers in a world in which they had been raised in an atmosphere of wariness. The only way out is through money. Margaret Bowland often includes the five dollar bill to represent President Abraham Lincoln and what he stood and died for. - The fleur-de-lis is a classical status symbol representing wealth and prestige. It juxtaposes the rest of the piece by appearing to be taped up in the composition. It collides with the importance put on money and surviving. Learn more about Margaret Bowland’s other available works and process in her gallery artist highlight viewing room. Signed copies of her book, Painting The Roses Red are available through Jenkins Johnson Gallery. Link in bio! Margaret Bowland, GILT, 2015, oil on linen, 51 x 74 in @margaretbowland @jenkinsjohnsongallery @kjenkinsjohnson @dexterwimberly @newyorkacademyofart @cam_raleigh @delartmuseum @pccafritz @smithsoniannpg @frostartmuseum @uncchapelhill @artworldconference @minnesotastreetproject @sfartdealers #margaretbowland #orangecountycenterforcontemporaryart #dukeellingtonschoolofthearts #outwinboocheverportraitcompetition #nycartist #contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #contemporaryfineart #contemporarypainting #oilpainting #oilonlinen #contemporaryrealism #figurativepainting #postcontemporaryart #creativeuprising #womenpaintingwomen #livingartist #womeninart #femaleartist #femaleartistsofinstagram #womenwhopaint #thegaze #galleryartist See more

TODAY! Jenkins Johnson Gallery is excited to present gallery artist spotlight Margaret Bowland Portraits: Strength and Vulnerability viewing room. It is NOW LIVE from July 21-24! Click here to view now: https://www.jenkinsjohnsongallery.com//12-margaret-bowlan/ Margaret Bowland’s portraiture is admired for being honest and confrontational. Her works become semi-autobiographical once a story develops within her. It evolves as her subject becomes the protagonist in her work.... They are a reflection of her own life story. The compositions are also depictions of people she feels that the world has overlooked, just as she has felt throughout her life. Bowland grew up in the segregated South, which made race a prominent theme in her childhood. Her work often depicts African American men, women, and children because she views them as heroic. Her subjects are never victims. Bowland feels that it is her job and responsibility as the artist to imagine what it is like to be "the other", and to paint her subjects with empathy. As she points out, the human psyche has no color. Bowland believes, thanks to major influences such as American novelist James Baldwin, that art is not meant to comfort. Art is meant to disturb the peace. Bowland's work successfully challenges the viewer to question their previously held beliefs. Bowland is a faculty member at the New York Academy of Art. In 2018, she had a solo exhibition, Painting the Roses Red at the Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh curated by Dexter Wimberly with an accompanying catalogue. Her work has been shown at museums including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Delaware Art Museum, and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. It has appeared in the FX television show, Atlanta. In 2009 she received major recognition as the People’s Choice Award Winner in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Her work is in collections including the collection of Spike Lee, The Estate of Peggy Cooper Cafritz, The Greenville County Museum of Art, The Frost Museum of Art and the Bennett Collection of Women Realists. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Gallerist Karen Jenkins-Johnson is highlighted on Artsy in 19 Gallerists Share Their Love for Collecting and Dream Purchases! She shared her love for collecting that began at the age of 26 and her dream purchases with writer Alina Cohen. She talks about giving up a piece by Deborah Roberts to the Perez Art Museum Miami as they wanted to acquire it. It has now become a seminal work in their collection. Jenkins-Johnson also spoke of how she acquired a piece by Romare Bearden ...from a terminally ill woman who wanted it appraised. Learn more about Jenkins-Johnson’s long relationship with collecting, along with 18 other prestigious gallerists highlighted in the article. Thank you Alina Cohen for writing this piece. Continue reading via link in bio! Featured gallerists include: Ealan Wingate @ealanwingate @gagosian Adam Sheffer @adamsheffer @pacegallery Liza Essers @goodman_gallery Stefan Benchoam @stefanbenchoam @proyectosultravioleta Orly Benzacar @orlybenzacar Claudia Cellini @cellini.claudia thethirdlinedxb Aissa Dione @aissadionetissus galerieatissdakar Xavier Hufkens @xavierhufkens Johann König @johann.koenig @koeniggalerie Pearl Lam @pearltheworld @pearllamgalleries Peggy Leboeuf @peggyleboeufnyc @galerieperrotin Max Marshall @deligallery Edward Tyler Nahem @edwardtnahemfineart Kourosh Nouri @carbon12gallery Thaddaeus Ropac @thaddaeusropac Nicole Schoeni @nicole_schoeni @schoeniprojects Marc Straus @marcstrausgallery Angela Westwater @angela_westwater @speronewestwater @kjenkinsjohnson @jenkinsjohnsongallery @artsy @sfartdealers @aipad @minnesotastreetproject @alinacohen @pamm #jenkinsjohnsongallery #artsy #artgallery #artdealer #artcollectors #contemporaryartgallery #artcollecting #artworld #artgallerist #artcollectorworld #gallerist #artsupporters #blackgallerists #supportartists #femalegallery #womeninart #artislife #femaleartgallery #artcommunity #inthenews #artworldnews #artforliving #LizaEssers #maxmarshall #KouroshNouri #MarcStraus #gagosian #pacegallery #goodmangallery #deborahrobertsart See more

WE’RE BACK! After our holiday break, we are back with another installment of our Conversations on Culture series! Join us this Friday, July 17, 3pm (EST)/12pm (PST) as we speak with long-time gallery artist and realist painter Ben Aronson. Tune in to hear more about his practice and work. Don’t miss out, RSVP in bio! . Looking inward rather than outward, and examining how you respond and interpret the world is a more slippery slope than simply making things look real, but i...t’s the only authentic route to finding your own genuine voice as an artist and ensuring your work will be original. - Ben Aronson . Ben Aronson combines Abstract Expressionism with precise realism to create his still lives, figurative works, landscapes and cityscapes. His unique techniques have inspired many in their own works. What Aronson has keenly perfected in his practice is his ability to capture the constantly changing light. Whether he is depicting a hazy day in Los Angeles, a sunrise over Manhattan, or the idyllic scenery of the South of France, Aronson uses light to give his audience the feeling of being present in these locations. While creating his compositions, Aronson includes his signature spontaneous brushstrokes to create movement in his artworks. It connects to the mystery he wants to investigate in his subject matter. The influence of his technique and ability to visually articulate the ever-changing light has led Aronson to perfectly create dynamic and moving compositions. . Aronson is a member of the highly acclaimed National Academy, alongside Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning and his mentor, Philip Guston. His work is in the permanent collections of many major institutions and museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the De Young Museum in San Francisco. He holds a MFA and BFA in painting from Boston University. Ben Aronson lives and works in Massachusetts. . @jenkinsjohnsongallery @benaronsonstudio @natlacademy @bostonu @mfaboston @mfahouston @vmfamuseum @deyoungmuseum @minnesotastreetprojects @sfartdealers #abstract #abstractexpressionism #contemporaryart #art #contemporary #painting See more

Mark your calendar for the June 25th opening of our virtual group exhibition, Figurative Summer, featuring artists Amani Lewis, Ludovic Nkoth, Raelis Vasquez, and Cameron Welch. The works of these artists, which encompass veins of both abstraction and figuration, represent the body in radical ways to tell stories and explore vital social concerns. In addition to the group exhibition viewing room (open June 25th-August 27th), each artist will have a featured online viewing room according to the artist feature schedule. Stay tuned for more details! . . . #summerexhibition #figurativesummer @amanilewis_ @lnkoth @raelis @welch_cameron #abstraction #figuration #kindasummer #groupartexhibition #savethedate #comingsoon #socialjustice #artactivism

Join us this Friday, June 19th 3pm (EST)/12pm (PST) for a Conversation on Culture featuring Troy Carter. Tune in to hear more about this remarkable man and the inspiration and joy he finds through art. RSVP in bio! . . . Troy Carter is founder and CEO of Q&A, a media & technology company. Troy most recently served as Spotify’s Global Head of Creator Services, overseeing relationships with artists, producers, songwriters and labels. In 2017, Troy was named Entertainment Advis...or to the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. His foray into the tech world resulted in the formation of Cross Culture Ventures. Early-stage investments include Uber, Lyft, Dropbox, Spotify, Warby Parker, theSkimm, Slack, Gimlet Media, Thrive Market, and ATTN. . . . Troy’s interest in artists has expanded beyond music into the visual arts as well. He was recently recognized in ArtNews’s Top 200 Collector’s issue as One To Watch and is a Trustee at LACMA, CalArts, and the Aspen Institute. Troy is also a founding advisor for Art+Practice in Los Angeles. . . #troycarter @therealswizzz @johnlegend @ladygaga @oprah @atomfactory @therealeve @spotify @lindseystirling @meghan_trainor @charlieputh @prnlegacy #americanmusicmanager @lacma @artandpractice @aspeninstitute @calarts

We would like to welcome pride month this year with a throwback to our 2018 exhibition, Pride & Loss, curated by visual activist Zanele Muholi, and featuring works by the Inkanyiso collective, a group of artists whose aim is increase visibility of black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, and the danger they face. The collective, founded in 2009, includes Muholi, Thembela Dick, Lerato Dumse, Boitumelo Nkopane, Collen Mfazwe, Thembi Mthembu, Lindeka Qampi,... Velisa Jara and Lebogang Mashifane. Their work captures and archives the joys and brutalities faced by the LGBTI community in South Africa. : Lerato Dumse, Nginani, 2014 . . . A staggering four out of ten LGBTI South Africans know of someone who has been murdered "for being or suspected of being" lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Despite South Africa legalizing same sex marriage in 2006, the country is still riddled with continuous homophobic violence, corrective rape and murdering of LGBTI people. For Muholi and the members of the Inkanyiso collective, just documenting the existence of LGBTI individuals can be a subversive act: Once, burglars broke into Muholi’s house and stole the hard drives containing her work. A member of the collective was beaten during the organization of this exhibition. This discrimination and violence is even worse when coupled with race. Muholi grew up under Apartheid, in the Bantu education system that ensured that blacks would receive a substandard education and remain in the working class. Being present and visible is at the heart of visual activism. Muholi states, We’re here queerizing spaces, blackening spaces. . . . #inkanyiso @muholizanele @dumselerato #prideandloss #pride #pride2020 #blacklivesmatter #queerlivesmatter #artcollectives #artactivism #southafricanartists #humanrights @thembeladick2015 @dumselerato @tuminkopane15 @collenmfazwe @thembimthembu_t @lindekaqampi_ww #velisajara @lmashifane See more

Enrico Riley’s paintings, which blur the boundary between historical and contemporary violence toward Black people, are particularly relevant. Riley states that Untitled: Blue Skies at Sea, Toward the Future is an optimistic painting showing a shirtless man cutting his bindings while simultaneously holding a pair of drum sticks. The cutting of the bindings signifies the difficulties of slavery and institutional racism that exists to this day. But the figure is finding a wa...y out of that reoccurring pattern. The drumsticks are a symbol of rhythm. Rhythm in terms of one’s personal tempo but also rhythm as a symbol of the spirit or soul. The rhythm of the heartbeat, the beating of the strong heart. And then there are the references of jazz, hip-hop and blues as the great musical contributions of African-Americans. []The figure holds a small book in his back pocket, a symbol of knowledge and agency. . . . Enrico has a forthcoming exhibition at University of New Hampshire, Aug 27Oct 24 . . . Enrico Riley is a Guggenheim fellow and Rome Prize winner. His paintings investigate violence and hope in historical and contemporary cultural traditions in African American culture. The artist uses formal techniques to expose the limitations of linear narratives, including fractured bodies, hidden figures, ambiguous environments, and cropped frames. He is in State of the Art 2020 at Crystal Bridges. Riley had a solo show at the American Academy in Rome. He is in museums including Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Studio Museum in Harlem. He is Professor and Chair of Studio Art at Dartmouth College, and holds a MFA in painting from the Yale School of Art and a BA in Visual Studies from Dartmouth College. . . . #enricoriley @rileyenrico #hope #perseverance #painting #contemporaryart @crystalbridgesmuseum #stateoftheart2020 #johnsimonguggenheim #romeprize @dartmouthstudioart @dartmouthcollege #yalemfa See more

These times remind us of the historical figures from the 1960s and 70s including Angela Davis, the fierce social justice activist pictured here in Wadsworth Jarrell’s homage to her Revolutionary 1972. Jarrell paints her words down her chest and left arm: "I have given my life in the struggle. If I have to lose my life, that is the way it will be". Davis has received many awards, including the Lenin Peace Prize, National Women's Hall of Fame, Time magazine's 1971 "Woman of t...he Year and Time Magazine’s 2020 100 Women of the Year". . . . Wadsworth, encouraged by his wife Jae, has added to his canvas in Africobra Kool-Aid style words forming a halo around Angela’s head: "love", "black", "nation", "time", "rest", "full of shit", "revolution", and "beautiful". "B", as usual, represents "blackness" "bad" and in this painting "beautiful". The work epitomizes the goal by AFRICOBRA artists to use all space possible in their creations, described as "jam-packed and jelly tight." . . . To learn more about AFRICOBRA and art in the era of black power, check out Wadsworth's new book. Link in bio. . . . Image: Revolutionary, 1971, acrylic and collage on canvas . . #blackart #blackpower #africobra #wadsworthjarrell #angeladavis #relevantart #revolution #beautiful @ucsc #feminist #femaleblackpower #nationalwomenshalloffame #sfsu #ethnicstudies #leninpeaceprize #womanoftheyear1971 #lifemagazine #historyofconsciousness #jaejarrell @timemagazineofficial See more

TOMORROW, June 5 join us at 3pm (EST)/12pm (PST) for a Conversation on Culture featuring artists and friends Alex Jackson and Gerald Sheffield, with Karen Jenkins-Johnson! Tune in to hear more about their friendship, practice, and how they uplift and help each other through life and their artistic process and research. It’s sure to be an inspirational conversation about brotherly respect and professional admiration. RSVP in bio. . . . They’re both Yale University MFAs and Ger...ald is a veteran of the United States Army. Learn more about them and their practice tomorrow! . . @karenjenkinsjohnson @alexjacksonartist @geraldsheffieldii @kjenkinsjohnson @jenkinsjohnsongallery #conversationsonculture #artisttalk #contemporaryart #finearts #contemporaryartist #thisweek #jenkinsjohnsongallery #alexjackson #geraldsheffield #artpractice #drawing #contemporarypainting #collaboration #blackartist #dialogues #blackvoices #africandiaspora #blackexcellence #representationmatters @sfartdealers @yaleschoolofart @yalealumni @uwmadison @minnesotastreetproject #minnesotastreetproject #unitedstatesarmy @schoolofvisualarts @kobenamercer #octaviabutler @octaviaebutler #issacjulien See more

During these difficult and challenging times we want to offer inspiration from Toni Morrison. . . . #overcome #weshallovercome #uplift #courage #bewise #perseverance @toni.morrison #blacklivesmatter #timeforartists #blackculture #blackwriters #creativepower #tonimorrison #brilliance