Robert Colescott, Untitled, c. 1968 Acrylic on Fabriano paper 41 1/4 x 27 1/4 inches (104.8 x 69.2 centimeters)
Booth C11
https://www.artbasel.com/?lang=en
Opening June 17, Jenkins Johnson Gallery is pleased to return to Basel, Switzerland for the 2025 edition of Art Basel. Our presentation this year features important pioneers of art history—Mary Lovelace O'Neal, Gordon Parks, Dr. Esther Mahlangu, Wadsworth Jarrell—including a new debut for our gallery, Robert Colescott.
As the first Black artist to represent the United States at the 47th Venice Biennale, nearly 30 years ago, Robert Colescott remains an important figure to art history, and his personal history working in the Bay Area closely ties him to our program. Several works from the late 1960s, produced at an important transitional moment in his artistic trajectory, will be on view.
For the curated Kabinett sector, we are pleased to present transitional works by Dr. Esther Mahlangu. Comprised of works from 2001 to the early 2010s, our presentation brings attention to the development of her practice following her breakout success in the 1990s.
Several works by Mary Lovelace O'Neal and Gordon Parks will explore important moments from their respective careers. Lovelace O'Neal and Parks are both currently on view at the Centre Pompidou as part of Paris Noir: Artistic Circulations and Anti-Colonial Resistance, 1950 – 2000. Our presentation expands on that discourse with a selection of relevant works. Wadsworth Jarrell rounds out our historic section, with Juju Man from the Delta, a 1985 mixed-media masterpiece depicting Muddy Waters playing at Pepper's Lounge in Chicago.
These historic artists are supplemented by established and emerging voices, including Patrick Alston, Scott Fraser, Alex Jackson, Aïda Muluneh, Blessing Ngobeni, and Nnenna Okore. Stylistically and technically diverse, this group of artists is illustrative of the breadth of contemporary making today, and the fluid discourse which exists globally and between disciplines.
