The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure
- Dates: March 8, 2025 - June 2, 2025
- Recurrence: Recurring daily
- Venue: North Carolina Museum of Art
- Location: Downtown Raleigh
- Address: 2110 Blue Ridge Rd., Raleigh, NC 27607
- Phone: 919.839.6262
- Times: 10am-5pm
- Admission: Tickets at the museum
About
The title, The Time Is Always Now, references an essay on desegregation by American writer James Baldwin (1924–1987). Organized around three themes—double consciousness, the persistence of history, and our aliveness—the exhibition showcases works by artists including Michael Armitage, Jordan Casteel, Lubaina Himid, Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Amy Sherald.
This collective assertion and interest in figuration and representation, examining both the presence and absence of the Black figure in art history, transcends geographical boundaries. Through their work these artists invite a shift in the dominant art historical perspective from “looking at” the Black figure to “seeing through” the eyes of Black artists and the figures they depict. Their artworks illuminate the richness, joy, beauty, and complexity of Black life.
East Building, Level B, Meymandi Exhibition Gallery