News

Gio Swaby is a multidisciplinary artist whose textile-based practice explores the intersections of Blackness and womanhood.

Art Institute Chicago April 8, 2023 Her embroidered portraits are anchored in the connections she forges with her subjects: each portrait begins with a photo shoot... Read more

This Calgary artist found a global audience with the 'soft power' of her textile portraits of Black women

CBC Arts November 18, 2022 Simone Elizabeth Saunders shares the story of the portrait that started it all. ''I was always searching for a sense... Read more

Barbara Earl Thomas contextualizes Grace Hopper’s new windows in talk on campus

Yale Daily News November 13, 2022 Renowned visual artist, writer and arts administrator Barbara Earl Thomas will engage in a conversation with Christopher Paul Jordan ART... Read more

Yale Replaces Racist Stained-Glass Window, Smashed by University Worker in 2016, With New Commissions by Faith Ringgold and Barbara Earl Thomas

artnet November 1, 2022 Read more

Faith Ringgold and Barbara Earl Thomas created stained-glass windows at Yale addressing the university’s ties to racist practices

The Art Newspaper October 28, 2022 Read more

Former Black Panthers discuss party history at book launch

Washington Square News October 26, 2022 Read more

Robert Peterson’s Intimate Portraits of Black Peace and Strength

SURFACE magazine October 19, 2022 Flipping the script on how Black families are often portrayed, the Oklahoma-based painter lovingly illustrates the strength and gentleness that... Read more

A Pilgrimage

The Edgefield Advertiser October 7, 2022 A tentacle, strong and far-reaching, of Edgefield’s history has reached the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), in New York... Read more

Self-healing and magic crystallize in ‘SALT to CATCH GHOSTS’

48 hills September 30, 2022 Against the stark white walls in the main gallery, Gbadebo presents two works using black dreadlocks: “Dada” (2015) and “Magic... Read more

Fall Arts Preview 2022: Museum Shows You Won’t Want to Miss

OBSERVER September 27, 2022 Explore African American studies through the 19th century utilitarian wares of Old Edgefield District, South Carolina. The exhibit features works... Read more

Visual Artist Gio Swaby Wants To Leave A Legacy Of Love Through Her Work

ESSENCE September 27, 2022 Gio Swaby crafts layered textiles of various colors and patterns that explore both Blackness and womanhood . Acknowledging the number... Read more

Join The New Book Singing Of Jeffrey Henson Scales, “In A Time Of Panthers” At Claire Oliver Gallery In Harlem

Harlem World Magazine September 20, 2022 Capturing intimate portraits and protest images of the organization and its leaders in a time of societal upheaval, Scales’s archive... Read more

Gio Swaby crafts love letters to black women at new Museum of Fine Arts exhibition

I Love The Burg September 19, 2022 Downtown St. Pete’s Museum of Fine Arts will host the first solo museum exhibition of multidisciplinary artist Gio Swaby, whose... Read more

Adebunmi Gbadebo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art September 8, 2022 The landmark exhibition Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina opens at The Metropolitan Museum of... Read more

15 NYC art exhibitions we’re most excited about this fall

TimeOut September 7, 2022 When You See Them, You See Me Explore the artwork of Robert Peterson in his debut solo exhibition hosted at... Read more

8 Must-See Black Art Exhibitions To Check Out This Summer

ESSENCE September 7, 2022 GIO SWABY’S “FRESH UP,” TRACEY ROSE’S “SHOOTING DOWN BABYLON,” AND “AFRICA FASHION” AT THE V&A MUSEUM ARE JUST A FEW... Read more

Gio Swaby’s embroidered portraits are ‘love letters to Black women’

The Weekly Challenger September 7, 2022 Bahamian artist Gio Swaby’s giant tapestries on canvas will grace the walls until Oct. 9, so get there fast. Swaby’s... Read more

Hear Me Now: The Black Potters Of Old Edgefield, South Carolina

Antiques and The Arts Weekly September 6, 2022 NEW YORK CITY – On view from September 9 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) and traveling thereafter, “Hear... Read more

New Hopper College windows acknowledge past, celebrate present

YaleNews August 25, 2022 Twelve new decorative windows installed today in Grace Hopper College, the Yale residential college previously known as Calhoun College, celebrate... Read more

Artist Robert Peterson Debuts The Joyous, Loving, And Balanced Family Life In New Solo Exhibition At Claire Oliver Gallery

Harlem World Magazine August 22, 2022 Claire Oliver Gallery in Central Harlem , NY, is pleased to announce When You See Them, You See Me, the... Read more

Gio Swaby ‘Fresh Up’ a Must-See if You Appreciate Good Style

The Gabber July 28, 2022 Swaby didn’t grow up going to galleries and looking at fine art. The daughter of a seamstress, she grew up... Read more

New Hopper College dining hall windows to confront past, celebrate change

Yale News July 28, 2022 Artist Barbara Earl Thomas has accepted a commission to design a new set of windows for the dining hall of... Read more

Inside the artists’ studios: 5 Seattle-area creators give us a peek

Seattle Times July 26, 2022 During Barbara Earl Thomas’ storied career , she’s seen many studio configurations: At one point, working out of a large... Read more

Gio Swaby celebrates Black women at Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg

Tampa Bay Times June 23, 2022 ST. PETERSBURG — “I’m making the art that I wanted to see.” That is how Bahamian artist Gio Swaby explained... Read more

9 New Books to Read in June

Vanity Fair June 17, 2022 “I make work for people to see, but the process is for me,” says Gio Swaby, the Bahamian portrait artist... Read more

Tulsa museum acquires work by Lawton artist Robert Peterson

The Lawton Constitution June 12, 2022 The piece, entitled “Tomorrow’s SuperHERo,” is a 60-by-60-inch oil painting on canvas depicting a young Black girl posed in front... Read more

LAST CHANCE: STAN SQUIREWELL AT CLAIRE OLIVER

Harlem Bespoke June 7, 2022 Harlem Bespoke: This is the last week to check out the sold-out exhibit of Stan Squirewell at the Claire Oliver... Read more

Luxuriant Tufted Portraits by Artist Simone Elizabeth Saunders Exude Black Joy

Colossal June 7, 2022 For Saunders , celebrating love is not grand, abstract, or impossible to grasp. It’s as honest as a single strand... Read more

Black Arts Legacies: Barbara Earl Thomas

Crosscut. June 1, 2022 With meticulous skill and a communal approach, the longtime Seattle artist has cut her own path. Read more

Bahamian artist Gio Swaby uses unique artistic mediums to explore Blackness and womanhood

The Crow's Nest at USF May 31, 2022 Multidisciplinary artist Gio Swaby was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas before moving to Canada to purse a Master of... Read more

Textiles, Triumphs and Love Letters to Black Women: Gio Swaby’s Solo Museum Debut

Yahoo News May 28, 2022 The 30-year-old Bahamian artist, whose solo museum debut opened at The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg on Saturday, accompanied... Read more

Textiles, Triumphs and Love Letters to Black Women: Gio Swaby’s Solo Museum Debut

May 28, 2022 Gio Swaby wants Black women to take up space in the art world — more than they ever have. The... Read more

Fresh Up: MFA artist Gio Swaby tells personal stories through textiles

Catalyst May 27, 2022 Every picture, it’s been wisely observed, tells a story. And with Fresh Up, the exhibition of works opening Saturday at... Read more

Gio Swaby featured in Orlando's City Magazine

Orlando's City Magazine May 27, 2022 When Gio Swaby was a teenager in the Bahamas, adults told her not to go out “gyalavantin” with her friends... Read more

Nikole Hannah-Jones and Gio Swaby on Portraiture that Uplifts Black Women

Literary Hub May 26, 2022 Gio’s work evokes at once awe and comfort, complexity in a misleadingly simplistic form. It is approachable even as you... Read more

Artist Talk: Kiki Smith and Judith Schaechter

Lesley University May 24, 2022 Read more

Explore the occult through art at the Chrysler Museum Friday the 13th

The Virginian-Pilot May 11, 2022 Norfolk — The Chrysler Museum of Art’s popular event, “Art Out Loud,” returns Friday the 13th by dabbling in Victorian... Read more

At Museums, a Mix of Old and New

The New York Times April 27, 2022 American museums are making steady efforts to show a large range of media, styles and perspectives. But this spring and... Read more

Gio Swaby's Textile Portraits Are a Love Letter to Black Womanhood

HARPER'S BAZAAR April 6, 2022 The 30-year-old Bahamian multimedia textile artist took the art world by storm after her debut exhibition in New York City's... Read more

Robert Peterson: Ten Years to the Top

LUXIERE April 1, 2022 Robert Peterson’s raw and spontaneous abstract portraits are in high demand from art collectors and fans worldwide, including professional athletes... Read more

Editors’ Picks: 14 Events for Your Art Calendar

artnet news March 21, 2022 For his inaugural show for the artist at Claire Oliver, Squirewell’s work looks at who curates and controls the narratives... Read more

A Conversation With Barbara Earl Thomas

Cerebral Woman Art Talks Podcast March 20, 2022 Ep.96 features Barbara Earl Thomas. She is a visual artist with numerous national exhibits to her credit. She is a... Read more

How one Louisville man is challenging the context of Black Indigenous history

Louisville Courier Journal February 24, 2022 Stan Squirewell sees beyond the hardened expressions frozen in time when he flips through an archive. He believes the people... Read more

The Poetics of Barbara Earl Thomas

University of Washington February 9, 2022 This story is the first in a series on Black artists and scholars. Read more

The Totality of Time Lusters the Dusk

Chrysler Museum of Art January 15, 2022 In this immersive installation, artist Lauren Fensterstock transforms a gallery within the Chrysler Museum of Art into a darkened and... Read more

TRUE BLUE: The Culpability of a Material

Tatter January 4, 2022 Adebunmi creates sculptures, prints, ceramics, and paper using historical and cultural imbued materials. Currently focused on her “True Blue and... Read more

Studio Visit: How Louisville's Stan Squirewell Went From The D.C. Streets To A Sold Out, Art Basel Show

LEO Weekly December 15, 2021 Squirewell got his start in Washington D.C., but it wasn’t smooth, and like many young men with not enough to... Read more

In Miami, Buyers Hit the Beach for Untitled Art Fair

artnet news November 30, 2021 Mixed-media paintings and textile works by emerging and mid-career artists were hot sellers. “Everything’s gone,” Harlem gallerist Claire Oliver said... Read more

Peterson breaks a personal record with Phillips art auction

The Lawton Constitution October 31, 2021 Peterson’s painting “We’re Gonna Be Kings” sold for $56,700 at the storied Phillips auction house in New York City. Phillips... Read more

In the galleries: Multiple works by Black artists create a vision of authority

The Washington Post September 17, 2021 When the artists studio Stable opened two years ago, much attention was paid to the building’s picturesque original function: sheltering... Read more

How a Surprise Discovery of Photographs From the 1960s Meets the Moment

The New York Times: Race/Related September 4, 2021 Not long after his mother passed away in 2018, a massive relic from Jeffrey Henson Scales’ childhood was unexpectedly found... Read more

Editors’ Picks: 9 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week

artnet news August 10, 2021 Lauren Fensterstock has used glittering materials—glass, vintage crystal, and semi-precious stones such as quartz, obsidian, onyx, and hematite—to create her... Read more

Artist Lauren Fensterstock Illuminates New York Gallery With Fervent Depiction Of Buddha's Sermon Of The Seven Suns

Forbes June 11, 2021 Crystals reclaimed from a chandelier welcoming entertainers to a legendary Harlem hangout that’s become a gallery protrude amid a meticulous... Read more

Meet Artist Gio Swaby

artnet news June 4, 2021 the 29-Year-Old Phenom Whose Sold-Out Debut Boasted Buyers Including Eight Museums (and Roxane Gay) The 29-year-old artist is still in... Read more

At the Renwick Gallery, four artists conjure Mother Nature out of fabric, metal, glass and paper

The Washington Post May 11, 2021 From roses on teacups to berries on wallpaper, natural motifs are common in the decorative arts. But there’s nothing dainty... Read more

Object, Monster, Omen: An Interview with Lauren Fensterstock on Her Installation at The Renwick

Whitehot Magazine May 1, 2021 Lauren Fensterstock works in large-scale installation using myriad materials and techniques such as paper quilling and mosaic. She is one... Read more

A Love Letter to Black Women

The New York Times: Race/Related April 10, 2021 For many, art provides a voice for the unheard. It can capture moments of positivity that might otherwise be unrepresented.... Read more

How Bisa Butler Went From Being a High School Art Teacher to an In-Demand Quilter With a Show at the Art Institute of Chicago

artnet news April 7, 2021 Bisa Butler’s intricate portrait quilts are often based on found black-and-white photographs of Black people—some famous, some anonymous, some familial.... Read more

Barbara Earl Thomas’ ‘The Geography of Innocence’ exhibit at SAM invites transformation

The Seattle Times March 27, 2021 One word — “grace” — inspired the first cut-paper portrait Seattle artist Barbara Earl Thomas created in the series that... Read more

Editor's Picks: 14 Events for Your Art Calendar, From a Salute to Some 'Very Funny Ladies' to a Splashy Show of Constructivist Posters

Artnet News March 21, 2021 “Stan Squirewell: Who That Is ?” at Claire Oliver Gallery, New York For his inaugural show for the artist at... Read more

The Illuminating Work Of Barbara Earl Thomas Is Finally In Display At The Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Medium February 26, 2021 Seattle has always produced hidden gems and Barbara Earl Thomas is one of them. A native of Seattle, Thomas is... Read more

Barbara Earl Thomas Exhibition Opens at Seattle Art Museum

INTERIOR DESIGN February 15, 2021 The Seattle Art Museum is giving its first solo exhibition of hometown artist Barbara Earl Thomas , who is also... Read more

Object Lessons: Lauren Fensterstock

Sculpture Magazine February 1, 2021 For a long time, I have been looking at how we shape landscapes and project meaning through them, but now... Read more

Editors’ Picks: 19 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week

artnet news December 14, 2020 Harlem’s Claire Oliver Gallery reopens with the first New York solo show for Adebumni Gabadebo, featuring her series “True Blue,”... Read more

An Eye-Opening Exhibition in Ohio Looks at the Role of Quilting in Radical American Social Movements

artnet news December 2, 2020 What the museum says: “Disrupting our expectations of quilts as objects that provide warmth and comfort, this exhibition will explore... Read more

An Artist Probes Her Southern Lineage in Luminous Shades of Blue

HYPERALLEGIC October 30, 2020 Gathering hair, indigo, and artifacts from two South Carolina plantations, Adebunmi Gbadebo: A Dilemma of Inheritance considers the materiality of... Read more

From 2 Artists, 2 Ways to Tell Stories of Black America

The New York Times October 21, 2020 Works by Bisa Butler and Barbara Earl Thomas are featured in major museum shows in Chicago and Seattle. It’s a... Read more

A dilemma of inheritance Adebunmi Gbadebo employs abstraction and non-traditional materials to mine memories and histories of enslavement

Culture Type October 3, 2020 There;s a family gathering of sorts underway at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York. 'Adebunmi Gbadebo: A Dilema of inheritance',... Read more

Adebumni Gabadebo: A Dilemma of Inheritance @ Claire Oliver Gallery

JUXTAPOZ September 17, 2020 Claire Oliver Gallery is pleased to announce the debut solo exhibition by artist Adebunmi Gbadebo, A Dilemma of Inheritance. The... Read more

Preview: Fall 2020 Quarterly with Bisa Butler, Marilyn Minter, Nicolas Party, Dominic Chambers, Cassi Namoda and more!

JUXTAPOZ August 27, 2020 Bisa Bulter is indeed featured in this issue, and her presence looms equally large. That she is one of the... Read more

Art Q&A: Sculptors Aaron Stephan and Lauren Fensterstock keep their heads down on long-term projects

Portland Press Herald May 31, 2020 It will be a while before the Portland couple knows how the shutdown will affect their livelihood. If you viewed... Read more

Stained Glass That Demands Slow Looking

HYPERALLERGIC April 22, 2020 ROCHESTER, New York — Judith Schaechter’s stained glass works reach so far in different directions that trying to classify them... Read more

Bisa Butler's work aims to 'reorient angst and despair' faced by Black Americans

CREATIVE BOOM March 17, 2020 But while it's undoubtedly exquisitely detailed and nuanced, it really packs a punch. Her portraits are expressive, viscerally alive –... Read more

Depth, History, and Reverence: The Intricacies of Bisa Butler’s Quilted Portraits

VOGUE March 3, 2020 In the 20 years since her epiphany, Butler has been creating exquisite quilted portraits that both honor the African American... Read more

Art Review: Ibou Ndoye and Adebunmi Gbadebo at NJCU

Jersey City Times February 14, 2020 The show features work by Newark-based sculptor and fiber artist Adebunmi Gbadebo , who works in a style that will... Read more

Claire Oliver Gallery Becomes Latest Enterprise to Depart New York’s Chelsea District

ARTnews January 15, 2020 Amid rising rents and declining foot traffic, various galleries, including P.P.O.W, Andrew Kreps Gallery, and James Cohan Gallery, have left... Read more

HARLEM-BASED ARTIST STAN SQUIREWELL’S FIRST SOLO SHOW IN LONDON TO OPEN ON APRIL 1ST

FAD magazine March 22, 2019 Following an exhibition of Stan Squirewell’s work at FACTION’s Harlem space, the FACTION team bring him to London for a... Read more

FACTION Art Projects announce solo show of Harlem artist Stan Squirewell at Gallery 8, London

ARTFIXdaily March 11, 2019 FACTION Art Projects announce solo show of Harlem artist Stan Squirewell at Gallery 8, London Stan Squirewell 1 April –... Read more

Stan Squirewell, Renee Cox among featured artists at Harlem Perspectives exhibit

New York Amsterdams News April 26, 2018 Washington, D.C. artist Stan Squirewell’s work is infused with the spirit of his great aunt who, like a great matriarch,... Read more