Kerry James Marshall: Works on Paper

Over the last 35 years, Kerry James Marshall (American, born 1955) has created groundbreaking work that gives visibility to narratives centered on African American identity. Through his often monumental paintings that insert black protagonists into traditional Western art genres, Marshall has distinguished himself as one of the most acclaimed and influential artists of our time. Alongside his paintings, Marshall has an active practice making works on paper, which is the focus of this exhibition. 

The show features a monumental, 12-panel woodcut print from 1998–99 that unfolds cinematically, taking the viewer from an aerial perspective of an urban grid into the intimate setting of a home. An array of drawings of smaller scale, spanning the arc of Marshall’s career, will complement the woodcut and emphasize the seminal artist’s ongoing investigations of private and public space. This exhibition is organized on the occasion of the inaugural iteration of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial of Contemporary Art.