A persistent debate surrounds exhibitions like “Young, Gifted and Black,” a traveling showcase of contemporary Black artists currently installed at the Vicki Myhren Gallery on the University of Denver campus.
One line of thinking posits that black artists were long overlooked and underrepresented in U.S. galleries and shows like this bring attention to important work that needs to be seen. When they are well-produced — and this one is — they can document a crucial chapter in art history.
The other line argues that Black voices are better represented on the walls of U.S. museums in the present day (if not in the curatorial or management offices; though that’s another debate) and that Black-only shows perpetuate the idea of separateness in the minds of the viewing public. In other words, they are an updated, if well-intended, form of segregation.
Moreover, the arguments go, they treat “Black art” as monolithic. Despite the diversity of media, message, process, context and the individual human experiences of the artists, they somehow speak in the same creative language and need to be grouped together in the same room. No one buys into that, of course.
It’s a similar discussion that accompanies any show these days that is “all” — that is, all one gender, one geography, one side of a political issue. While the dialogue can sometimes be fraught with insensitive language and troubling insinuations, it is a real and unavoidable filter through which people experience work presented in this manner. It is good, at this point in the progress of inclusion, to acknowledge it.
And then to move on to what is really important: the work on display, and how it is framed by the curators. In this case, that is Antwaun Sargent and Matt Wycoff, who made their choices for this exhibition from one single source, the Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art. The collectors assembled their holdings over the last decade, acquiring many of the better-known names on the art scene.
That includes artists who have been visible for some years, such as Kara Walker, Kerry James Marshall, Glenn Ligon and David Hammons; and more recently recognized names, like Jordan Casteel and Christina Quarles. The exhibition is largely arranged in an all-stars fashion where each artist is represented by one piece.
The show has some merit in that way, serving as a primer on an essential aspect of American art. Spend an hour at the Vicki Myhren Gallery and you can get a quick overview of who and what has resonated with curators and collectors, and who may be coming next. You may arrive knowing about Lorna Simpson, Nari Ward and Henry Taylor. But maybe you will learn about Gerald Sheffield, Chiffon Thomas and Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, if you do not know them already.
The curators do draw connections between the work beyond race, at least in writings that accompany the exhibition, and it is all about generational change. The older artists are “presented as both lineage and foil for the younger,” Wycoff writes. The younger artists are “the fruit of the older generation’s struggle for equal representation.”
That’s legit. There is a story to be told here about how museums and galleries have changed the way they do business, and these artists are the key characters.
But Wycoff draws his narrative from something richer: the art itself and how it has evolved as creators found their voices in different eras. In his most intriguing line of thinking, he traces the expansion of color palettes, noting how the earlier artists, such as Walker and Marshall, often used the color black as a representation of actual Black identity and existence.
The exhibition features two such works: a 1995 paper collage by Walker, and Marshall’s 1996 “Den Mother,” an acrylic and charcoal portrait. Both pieces rely heavily on the color black and both are in line with the style of art-making that these two famous artists are known for.
But then Wycoff uses the material in the Lumpkin-Boccuzzi collection to show how things have changed and how that served as a jumping-off point for artists who followed.
The exhibition is full of examples where younger artists indulge in color in ways that border on the psychedelic. There is Casteel, who is known for painting Black flesh in a rainbow of shades; or Quarles, who renders skin color in sherbet tones; or Arcmanoro Niles, who uses pink glitter to capture the essence of Black hair.
There is a sense in this juxtaposition of work that the younger artists are rejecting the ways of the very people who broke down the barriers of racial separation that they benefited from, that they are renouncing their own heroes.
But that is exactly what makes art interesting and new. It is not the artists who follow in footsteps that change art. It is the ones who find their own paths and who demonstrate true originality. Wycoff’s theory is not airtight, but it creates a sensational frame for seeing this exhibition.
Beyond that deep thinking is the visual treat that “Young, Gifted and Black” is on its surface. There is a mesmerizing collection of portraits installed salon-style on one wall, each one with a different point of view but all with an eye on how artists see themselves and the human figure. There is also a nice sampling of media, from painting and drawing to photos, video and 3-D objects. Because the use of color is central to its through-line, there is plenty of that. Deep, exaggerated colors define this exhibition.
There is a spirit of adventure to this show; it wants viewers to recognize the accomplishments of ground-breaking artists but also to discover new talents, and it is rich in that way.
The material is good enough to power through any debate about why or why not an “all-this” or “all-that” exhibition should exist in the first place. It is smart to enter the gallery acknowledging the bias you have in that disagreement, then to breathe and enjoy some exceptional art.
IF YOU GO
“Young, Gifted and Black” continues through April 30 at the Vicki Myhren Gallery, 2121 E. Ashbury Ave. It’s free. Info: 303-871-3716 or online at http://vicki-myhren-gallery.du.edu.
