Entering the 21st century, African American art experienced an extraordinary surge in visibility, value, and cultural significance. This period has seen an unprecedented number of Black artists gain international recognition, with their work occupying major museum exhibitions, commanding record-breaking prices at auction, and reshaping the global art conversation. Shaped by social media and institutional reckoning, it has sought—both within and beyond the Black community—for more honest, complex, and inclusive narratives.
Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald: Presidential Portraiture Reimagined
A defining moment in 21st-century Black art came in 2018 with the unveiling of the official portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Painted by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, these portraits marked the first time Black artists had received this historic commission for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
Wiley’s portrait presents Obama seated against a lush backdrop of flora, referencing the President’s connection to his home state of Hawaii. Wiley is known for his large-scale portraits of Black subjects styled in the tradition of European old masters, asserting Black presence in spaces from which it has historically been excluded.
Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama, with its bright, abstract dress and contemplative poise, uses grayscale to render her skin tones as a way of challenging the idea of color as race. In this way, Sherald invites viewers to focus on form, identity, and presence beyond traditional racial framing.
Kara Walker: Confronting the Past with Unflinching Vision
Kara Walker is renowned for her striking use of silhouettes—often large-scale installations that blend 19th-century visual aesthetics with brutally honest depictions of slavery, race, gender, and power. Her work juxtaposes the genteel connotations of this Victorian craft with imagery of the violence embedded in American history. Her pieces prompt viewers to confront the legacies of white supremacy and the ongoing impact of historical trauma.
Contemporary Black artists are working across every imaginable medium: from traditional oil painting to immersive video, installation, performance, digital art, and beyond. Some, like Theaster Gates, combine urban revitalization, sculpture, and community organizing. Others, like Simone Leigh, use ceramics and African traditions to examine Black womanhood.
Social media platforms such as Instagram have allowed artists to bypass the traditional gallery format and build their own audiences, creating an opening for global dialogue and real-time engagement. Artists are using these tools, not only to promote their work, but to cultivate direct relationships with collectors, curators, and contemporaries.
The Market and the Movement
Since 2018, the art market has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for contemporary Black art, with auction houses, museums, and collectors working to fill historical gaps.
As we move forward, Black artists continue to redefine the canon, not by conforming to it, but by expanding it—bringing their full selves, stories, and visions front and center.
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*This content was created for the ISA 2025 Assets Conference.