Your art history post for today: by African American artist Barkley L. Hendricks (1945–2017), “Photo Bloke,” 2016, oil and acrylic on linen, 72 x 48 in., private collection. #arthistory #art #blackart #blackartist #blackartists

From Imani Wiliford, “The Iconoclastic Vision of Barkley L. Hendricks, Hyperallergic, February 11, 2025: ‘“I paint and make art because I like doing it,” the late Barkley L. Hendricks told this magazine in 2016, on occasion of his second solo show at Jack Shainman Gallery. “The subject matter I’m involved with, though, has always been seen as suspect, given the screwed-up culture we live in…. How many white artists get asked about how their whiteness plays into their work?”’

And another quote from the artist, from “BARKLEY L. HENDRICKS with Laila Pedro,” by Andrea Fraser with Thyrza Nichols Goodeve, The Brooklyn Rail, April 2016: “The art of painting is not only about putting paint down. I like to use the texture of the canvas as a vehicle to get the illusion that I’m interested in. People have always connected me with a political situation. I’m more about illusion. When you look at one of my paintings, you’ll see that there are glasses, or a shirt that looks like wool. I want that to be something that resonates with you first, rather than you trying to be connected with the unfortunate situation people of color face. There’s a script that’s been written, whether we like it or not. We’re all a part of it. What needs to happen is for artists to get up and get out of that headlock scenario—out of that script that’s been written that you had no control over.”