A Retrospective of Trailblazing Artist Faith Ringgold Centers Narratives of Black Americans

"Across a wide range of media, from painting to textiles to works on paper, Faith Ringgold (1930-2024) developed a practice that merged history, activism, formal inquiry, and global influences. Born and raised in Harlem, New York, her work evolved from her awareness of politics and social issues in the 1960s and 1970s, which she channeled into "an incisive narrative about the historical sacrifices and achievements of Black Americans," says Jack Shainman Gallery."

"Earlier this year, a documentary called " Paint Me a Road Out of Here " was released that chronicles the artist's first public art piece, a feminist mural at the Women's House of Detention on Rikers Island. The mural, "For the Women's House" contains eight segments-patchwork-like-that contain images of women in predominantly male career roles. Works like "American People Series #19: US Postage Commemorating the Advent of Black Power" and "Black Light #11: US America Black" mirror this motif, redolent of a quilt,"

"At Jack Shainman Gallery, Faith Ringgold highlights the artist's extraordinary and innovative approach to figuration, perspective, and material. She was acutely aware of the art historical canon as a predominantly white space, so she "sought out forms more suitable to the exploration of gender and racial identity that she so urgently pursued," the gallery says. In the 1970s, she traveled to Europe and onward to Africa, gathering ideas."

Faith Ringgold worked across painting, textiles, sculpture, and works on paper, merging history, activism, formal inquiry, and global influences. Born and raised in Harlem, New York, her practice responded to politics and social issues of the 1960s and 1970s and created incisive narratives about the sacrifices and achievements of Black Americans. She is best known for story quilts that combine fabric, embroidery, and painted tableaux of Harlem, jazz clubs, portraits—especially of women—and references to slavery and oppression. Her feminist public mural at the Women's House of Detention on Rikers Island used patchwork-like segments depicting women in predominantly male careers. Travels to Europe and Africa enriched her formal vocabulary and material experiments.

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