ECHO DELAY REVERB: American Art, Francophone Thought at the Palais de Tokyo traces how ideas associated with “French Theory”—from Barthes and Derrida to Foucault—have subtly shaped American art. Curated by Naomi Beckwith and collaborators, the exhibition shows how these concepts reverberated across studios and cultural spaces, appearing less as direct illustrations of theory and more as shifting echoes that artists absorbed, transformed, and set into motion.
Last December, the world lost the fearless and trailblazing artist and writer Lorraine O’Grady. Working across forms, she challenged conventions, celebrated beauty, and altered the cultural landscape. Here, DK Nnuro considers her work through the lens of translation and transcreation.
Lorraine O’Grady was a conceptual artist and cultural critic whose work explored race, identity, and representation through multimedia and performance. Best known for works such as Art Is … and her persona Mlle Bourgeoise Noire, she challenged institutional racism and expanded ideas about who art is for.
Lorraine O’Grady reflects on a decades-long career challenging racism and exclusion in the art world, as she presents her first museum retrospective at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. Nearly 50 years into her practice, her recognition marks a long-overdue moment for an artist whose influence has steadily reshaped cultural discourse.
A wave of high-profile gallery changes saw Lorraine O’Grady, Carol Bove, and Sonia Boyce switch representation across the US and UK. O’Grady moved from Alexander Gray Associates to Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, while Bove joined Gagosian and Boyce signed with Hauser & Wirth, reflecting shifts among major contemporary artists and galleries.
In her 1983 performance Art Is …, Lorraine O’Grady transformed Harlem’s African American Day Parade into a participatory artwork, inviting spectators to pose within gilded frames. The resulting images—especially Girlfriends Times Two—radiate joy and belonging, asserting that art is for everyone while challenging exclusion in the avant-garde.
In his review of Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power at the Brooklyn Museum, Holland Cotter examines how Black artists responded to racism, civil rights struggles, and questions of identity through politically engaged art. The exhibition highlights more than 60 artists whose work challenged social structures and redefined the role of art in public life.