© Kerry James Marshall

Memento, 2003
Acrylic on canvas. Work in progress.
Courtesy of the artist.


Kerry James Marshall
One True Thing, Meditations on Black Aesthetics



Chicago-based artist Kerry James Marshall is best known for his large-scale paintings that recall the grandeur and monumentality of traditional history painting.


Using a figurative style and imagery of African Americans in urban, suburban, and interior settings, Marshall's work has often addressed social issues stemming from the Civil Rights movement, evoking the nostalgia and idealism of that era.


His exhibition at the MCA will consist of a major new body of work in painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, and video that demonstrates Marshall's ongoing engagement with ideas and images drawn from Black history, identity, and cultural tradition. The exhibition also includes work by three additional artists of different generations – Senga Nengudi, Damon Lamar Reed, and L. Eduardo.


Kerry James Marshall: One True Thing, Meditations on Black Aesthetics is curated by Elizabeth Smith, James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator with Tricia Van Eck, Curatorial Coordinator. It will travel throughout the U.S. to institutions including Miami Art Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland, and Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama.


Major support for the exhibition "Kerry James Marshall: One True Thing, Meditations on Black Aesthetics" is provided by the Harris Family Foundation in honor of Bette and Neison Harris.


Additional support is provided by The Joyce Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Peter Norton Family Foundation, and The Boeing Company.


Air transportation is provided by American Airlines, the official airline of the Museum of Contemporary Art.


October 25, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Hours: Wed-Sun 10 am - 5 pm, Tue 10 am - 8 pm


Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
220 East Chicago Avenue
USA-Chicago, IL
Telephone +1 312 280 2660
Fax +1 312 397 4095

www.mcachicago.org