When We See Us: A Century Of Black Figuration In Painting

 Explore one hundred years of Black figurative art and self-representation in When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting. Published to accompany a landmark exhibition at Cape Town’s Zeitz MOCAA, this stunning tome is filled with over two hundred paintings from artists either living on the African continent or somewhere in the vast African diaspora. Together, these carefully-selected works encapsulate the many ways that Black painters have imagined, positioned, remembered and asserted their experiences, as well as how they have contributed to important social and political movements, from BLM and pan-Africanism to civil rights, liberation and independence. Divided into six sections based on theme, you’ll find page after page of breathtaking works that celebrate everyday life, Black joy and revelry, Black bodies in repose, Black sensuality, Black spirituality and Black triumph and emancipation, all from a host of talented painters including Kehinde Wiley, Amy Sherald, Zemba Luzamba, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, John Thomas Biggers, Cheri Samba, Gerard Sekoto, Benedito Jose Tobias, Emma Pap’ and many more. Interspersed throughout these images are specially-commissioned stories and poems from six well-known writers, which work with the paintings to provide an even richer picture of Black subjectivity. You’ll also find a glossary of brief artists’ biographies, which help to illuminate the cultural and historical significance behind each featured work of art. A moving tribute to an often overlooked subject matter, When We See Us is a must-have for art lovers and anyone with an interest in Black cultural history. 

 

•8.5″W x 1.25″D x 11.25″H

 

•edited by Koyo Kouoh
•contributions by Ken Bugul, Tandazani Dhlakama, Bill Kouelany, Robin Coste Lews and Maaza Mengiste
•hardcover
•336 pages