Bøger udgivet af Roberts Projects

New paintings from Wiley that examine how nature is depicted and symbolized in Japanese artThis striking volume presents a new body of work by American painter Kehinde Wiley, who is best known for his vibrant portraiture of Black people that subverts the hierarchies and conventions of classical European and American portraiture. Drawing inspiration from Japanese nature paintings of the Edo period (ca. 1600-1868), Wiley parallels traditional techniques and materials in these monumental works. Exposed linen in the background of the paintings highlights the natural elements of the scenes while also preserving a delicate balance of untouched picture space. In recontextualizing the naturalist landscape genre from a non-Western perspective, Wiley activates diverse ways of thinking about man's relationship to nature.Following the artist's sixth solo show at Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, this amply illustrated catalog includes commissioned essays placing Wiley's work within the historical context of Japanese painting as well as contemporary Black art. In Wiley's own words, "In this new turn, I'm trying to break open the conversation again toward what nature really means in the 21st century, in an era of widespread ecological disasters. Our relationship with nature is increasingly in a perilous position. It invites a reinterpretation of not only an incredible opportunity to explore the vastness and the beauty of nature, but also the astonishing fragility and sadness that surrounds us, and lost opportunities."Kehinde Wiley (born 1977) was the first Black artist to paint an official US presidential portrait for former US President Barack Obama. Wiley has held solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally, and his works are included in the collections of over 40 public institutions worldwide.

"The first monograph on the sinuous, exhilaratingly colorful and pattern-filled portraiture of Amoako Boafo. Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo has built a practice synthesizing the ways that art both reflects and perpetuates the power of representation. Amoako Boafo is the first monograph to comprehensively examine the artist's career to date. Heavily illustrated and featuring original contributions by Osei Bonsu, Rachel Cargle, Mutombo Da Poet and Aja Monet, the book also presents an insightful and expansive conversation with the artist by Paul Schimmel. Exclusively portraying individuals from the diaspora and beyond, Boafo invites a reflection on Black subjectivity, diversity and complexity. His portraits, notable for their bold colors and patterns, celebrate his subjects as a means to challenge portrayals that objectify and dehumanize Blackness. As Boafo has stated, "the primary idea of my practice is representation, documenting, celebrating and showing new ways to approach Blackness.""--

This volume features new watercolor works on paper and assemblages by Betye Saar (born 1926) that incorporate the artist's personal collection of Black dolls. These watercolors showcase the artist's experimentation with vivid color and layered techniques, and her new interest in flat shapes. While Saar has previously used painting in her mixed-media collages, this is the first publication to focus on her watercolor works on paper. "Watercolor is something that children use, so I decided, maybe I'll paint something about children, maybe I'll paint the dolls," Saar says. Referencing the underrepresented history of Black dolls through Saar's artistic lens, this catalog distills several intersecting themes, imagery and objects in Saar's oeuvre, highlighting her prominent usage and reinvention of Black imagery. It contains 90 color images, including early assemblage works that feature Black dolls, such as Gris-Gris Box (1972) and Mti (1973), plus early sketchbooks and a curated selection of Saar's Black doll collection. It also includes original essays by Rachel Federman, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Drawings at the Morgan Library & Museum, and Katherine Jentleson, Merrie and Dan Boone Curator of Folk and Self-Taught Art at the High Museum of Art, and an interview with the artist by her granddaughter, Maddy Inez Leeser.