Lubaina Himid (b. Zanzibar, 1954) is one of the most celebrated British artists working today. A pioneer of the Black Arts Movement of the 1980s, Himid has since risen to international acclaim, becoming the first Black woman to win the Turner Prize in 2017. Himid's vibrant, incisive paintings operate in the gaps of the historical record, lending lush visibility to issues of labor, migration, and the human toll of empire. Bold in line and vibrant in hue, her recent portraits combine stylised depiction and psychological depth, giving credence to the inner lives of figures whose stories were left untold.
Street Sellers is Himid's frst gallery exhibition in the United States in over 15 years, and will debut a new cycle of paintings alongside works on paper and domestic objects. The ten figurative paintings affirm the dignity of work through depictions of street vendors who ply their wares, outfitted with the tools of their particular trade and seen on a grand scale. Here the genre of the full-length portrait—the domain of aristocrats and monarchs—is recast with new protagonists, shown lost in thought yet fully at one with their respective métiers. Asserting the centrality of Black subjects to art historical arenas long denied them, Himid contends that she is 'not a painter in the strictest sense,' but rather 'a political strategist who uses a visual language to encourage conversation, argument, change.'
Following on the critical acclaim of her major survey at Tate Modern in 2021–22, the salience of Himid's work continues to be recognised in institutional exhibitions in the UK and beyond. Just this spring, three London museums featured her work in concurrent historical presentations: Entangled Pasts at the Royal Academy, Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970–90 at Tate Britain, and The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure at The National Portrait Gallery. Himid is also the recipient of this year's FLAG Art Foundation and Maria Lassnig Prizes, which are accompanied by solo exhibitions in Austin (on view through July 21), New York (opening September 2024), and Beijing (forthcoming in 2025).
Press release courtesy Greene Naftali
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