MCA – Media: Kerry James Marshall: Mastry

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A black figure with glittery golden wings looks directly at the viewer while bending over a coffee table in a 1960s or 70s living room. A large painting hangs on the right wall with images of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy, and the words: "We Mourn Our Loss." Historical figures from the Civil Rights Movement are stenciled above amid fluffy white and golden clouds. — Kerry James Marshall, Souvenir I, 1997. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Bernice and Kenneth Newberger Fund. © 1997 Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Joe Ziolkowski, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, 7am Sunday Morning, 2003. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Joseph and Jory Shapiro Fund by exchange. Photo: Michal Raz-Russo, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self, 1980. Steven and Deborah Lebowitz. Photo: Matthew Fried, © MCA Chicago

This painting depicts a woman with jet-black skin looking directly at the viewer and holding a paintbrush and palette in front of an unfinished paint-by-number self-portrait. — Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Painter), 2009. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Katherine S. Schamberg by exchange. © 2009 Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Mirror Girl), 2014. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Marshall Field’s by exchange. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, School of Beauty, School of Culture, 2012. Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase with funds provided by Elizabeth (Bibby) Smith, the Collectors Circle for Contemporary Art, Jane Comer, the Sankofa Society, and general acquisition funds. Photo: Sean Pathasema

Kerry James Marshall, Scout (Girl), 1995. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of the Susan and Lewis Manilow Collection of Chicago Artists. © 1995 Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Scout (Boy), 1995. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas mounted on board; 34 ½ × 34 ½ in. (87.6 × 87.6 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of the Susan and Lewis Manilow Collection of Chicago Artists, 2003.28

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled, 2008. Private collection, courtesy Segalot, New York. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Kerry James Marshall, Vignette, 2003. Defares Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London

Kerry James Marshall, Slow Dance, 1992–93. Lent by The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago; Purchase, Smart Family Fund Foundation for Contemporary Art, and Paul and Miriam Kirkley Fund for Acquisitions. Photo © 2015, courtesy of The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Bang, 1994. The Progressive Corporation. Photo courtesy of the Progressive Corporation

Kerry James Marshall, Portrait of a Curator (In Memory of Beryl Wright), 2009. Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert Collection © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Kerry James Marshall, Campfire Girls, 1995. Collection of Dick and Gloria Anderson. Photo: E. G. Schempf

Kerry James Marshall, The Academy, 2012. Collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Kerry James Marshall, Black Star 2, 2012. Collection of Liz and Eric Lefkofsky. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

A young black boy holding a pink toy gun stands next to a black boy riding a car machine. The mini black car has a bright yellow flame painted on the side. In front, an orange putti holds flowers. To the left, a blue tree bears bullets instead of fruit, with a yellow garland winding around the trunk that reads: "POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS." — Kerry James Marshall, The Lost Boys, 1993. Collection of Rick Hunting and Jolanda Hunting. Photo: Dominique Provost, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Studio), 2014. Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation Gift, Acquisitions Fund and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Multicultural Audience Development Initiative Gift, 2015. Photo courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London

Kerry James Marshall, The Actor Hezekiah Washington as Julian Carlton Taliesen Murderer of Frank Lloyd Wright Family, 2009. Hudgins Family NY. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Kerry James Marshall, Better Homes, Better Gardens, 1994. Denver Art Museum Collection: Funds from Polly and Mark Addison, the Alliance for Contemporary Art, Caroline Morgan, and Colorado Contemporary Collectors: Suzanne Farver, Linda and Ken Heller, Jan and Frederick Mayer, Beverly and Bernard Rosen, Annalee and Wagner Schorr, and anonymous donors. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo courtesy of the Denver Art Museum

Kerry James Marshall, Many Mansions, 1994. The Art Institute of Chicago, Max V. Kohnstamm Fund. Photo © The Art Institute of Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, De Style., 1993. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Jacob Bloom. Digital image © 2015 Museum Associates/LACMA. Licensed by Art Resource, New York

Kerry James Marshall, Voyager, 1992. Corcoran Collection, gift of the Women’s Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Blot), 2014. Rennie Collection, Vancouver, Canada. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London

Painting of a black woman laying down on a cadavers bed surrounded by anatomical diagrams of the female reproduction system, heart, and skeleton along with text reading "Exhibit A". — Kerry James Marshall, Beauty Examined, 1993. Courtesy of Charles and Nancy Adams-Sims. Photo: Matthew Fried, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Beauty Examined (detail), 1993. Courtesy of Charles and Nancy Adams-Sims. Photo: Matthew Fried, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Beauty Examined (detail), 1993. Courtesy of Charles and Nancy Adams-Sims. Photo: Matthew Fried, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Past Times, 1997. Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, McCormick Place Art Collection. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Past Times (detail), 1997. Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, McCormick Place Art Collection. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Past Times (detail), 1997. Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, McCormick Place Art Collection. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Nat Turner nonchalantly holds an ax in front of a bed where a severed white man's head rests on a pillow. — Kerry James Marshall, Portrait of Nat Turner with the Head of his Master, 2011. Private collection, courtesy of Segalot, New York. Photo: Bruce M. White, 2015 © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Black Artist (Studio View), 2002. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Robert and Sylvie Fitzpatrick. © 2002 Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

Kerry James Marshall
Photo: Kendall Karmanian

Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Kendall Karmanian

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

Kerry James Marshall, Rythm Mastr, 1999–present. Courtesy of the artist

A dark-skinned person with salt-and-pepper mustache and goatee wears a baseball cap and a dark coat over a dark shirt while regarding the viewer calmly. — Kerry James Marshall, Photo: Cameron Wittig, courtesy Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled, 2009. Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with the Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund and a gift from Jacqueline L. Bradley, B.A. 1979

Kerry James Marshall, Portrait of the Artist & a Vacuum, 1981. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo: Peter Paul Geoffrion

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Heirlooms and Accessories, 2002. Lent by the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago; Purchase, Smart Family Foundation Fund for Contemporary Art, and Paul and Miriam Kirkley Fund for Acquisitions. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view,_ Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, _7am Sunday Morning, 2003. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Joseph and Jory Shapiro Fund by exchange. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago. April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self, 1980. Steven and Deborah Lebowitz. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled, Red (If They Come in the Morning), 2011. Rennie Collection, Vancouver, Canada. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Souvenir I, 1997. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Bernice and Kenneth Newberger Fund. © 1997 Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago. April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Black Star 2, 2012. Collection of Liz and Eric Lefkofsky. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Memento #5, 2003. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: acquired through the generosity of the William T. Kemper Foundation – Commerce Bank, Trustee. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Stigma Stigmata, 1992. Collection of Eric and Cheryl McKissack. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, The Land That Time Forgot, 1992. Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio: Museum Purchase, The Shirle and William King Westwater Fund and the Derby Fund. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Scipio Moorehead, Portrait of Himself, 1776, 2007. Courtesy of Paula and Dedrea Gray. Courtesy of Richard Grey Gallery. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Silence is Golden, 1986. The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of the artist. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Painter), 2009. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Katherine S. Schamberg by exchange. © 2009 Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Studio), 2014. Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation Gift, Acquisitions Fund and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Multicultural Audience Development Initiative Gift, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown:Kerry James Marshall, Our Town, 1995. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled, 2008. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Richard Norton Memorial Fund and purchase through the generosity of Nancy B. Tieken. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, When Frustration Threatens Desire, 1990. April Sheldon and John Casado, San Francisco. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, School of Beauty, School of Culture, 2012. Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase with funds provided by Elizabeth (Bibby) Smith, the Collectors Circle for Contemporary Art, Jane Comer, the Sankofa Society, and general acquisition funds. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Past Times, 1997. Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, McCormick Place Art Collection. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Club Couple), 2014. Collection of Mandy and Cliff Einstein. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Painter), 2010. Susan and Lew Manilow. © Kerry James Marshall, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Beach Towel), 2014. Private collection, courtesy of David Zwirner, New York/London. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Portrait of a Curator (In Memory of Beryl Wright), 2009. Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert Collection. © Kerry James Marshall, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, The Ecstasy of Communion, 1990. Collection of Betye Saar. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, April 23–September 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Bang, 1994. The Progressive Corporation. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, Apr 23–Sep 25, 2016. Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self, 1980. Steven and Deborah Lebowitz. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Installation view, Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, MCA Chicago, Apr 23–Sep 25, 2016 Work shown: Kerry James Marshall, Past Times, 1997. Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, McCormick Place Art Collection. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, SOB, SOB (detail), 2003. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, © 2003, Kerry James Marshall. Photo: Gene Young

Kerry James Marshall, Still-life With Wedding Portrait, 2015. Jay and Gretchen Jordan, Chicago, Illinois. Photo: Lenny Gilmore / LennyGilmore.com, © MCA Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Altgeld Gardens), 1995. Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County. Community College, Overland Park, Kansas. Photo: E. G. Schempf

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Vignette), 2012. From the Collection of Martin Nesbitt and Dr. Anita Blanchard. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York