In London this Autumn, the most extensive European retrospective dedicated to Kerry James Marshall opens under the title The Histories, running from 20 September 2025 to 18 January 2026. More than seventy works, including monumental paintings, installations, prints, and a new series created specifically for the occasion, chart a thematic journey that makes Black bodies visible, traditionally excluded from the grand narratives of Western painting. Marshall distances himself from conventional historical representations by placing Black figures at the very center of the scene, affirming presence and dignity within symbolic and narrative contexts that draw on art history, comic books, science fiction, and contemporary culture. The result is an imaginative world that celebrates everyday life, interrogates the past, and projects towards more optimistic futures. Among the highlights are A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self (1980), an enigmatic work playing with chromatic contrast and suggested presence, The Academy (2012), a celebration of Black power, and Knowledge and Wonder (1995), a monumental commission for the Chicago Public Library that has never before been loaned. Structured into eleven thematic sections, the exhibition goes beyond simply presenting paintings to construct a broader discourse on visibility, memory, and cultural resistance. Black figures, portrayed in their everyday environments - barbershops, parks, studios - become symbols of resilience and aesthetic presence, offering viewers an expanded vision of historical and artistic space.
.jpg/jcr%3Acontent)
