Final few days for this fantastic exhibition. The Courtauld Gallery is currently hosting an important show of works by British artist Claudette Johnson (born 1959) and it’s running until 14th January so make sure you catch it.
Claudette Johnson, a founding member of the Black British Arts Movement, is regarded as one of the most important figurative artists of her time. She has been producing large-scale, figurative, vibrant and powerfully intimate paintings, drawings and sketches of Black women and men for more than 30 years.
This exhibition showcases Johnson’s groundbreaking talent and explores her artistic developments through recent and new pieces in addition to important early drawings such as the stunning I Came to Dance, 1982, and And I Have My Own Business in This Skin, 1982.
The foundation of this exhibition is Dorothy Price’s ongoing research, teaching, and activities in the field of Black and Diasporic British Art which has inspired Johnson for many years; she is the Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art and Critical Race Art History at The Courtauld. This is the first monographic exhibition of Claudette Johnson’s work at a major public gallery in London and it’s one of the best exhibitions of 2023.
Elsewhere in the collection of The Courtauld, impressive names such as Degas, Gauguin and Van Gogh make this museum one of the most interesting in London.
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Image: Claudette Johnson. Photo: © Anne Tetzlaff; courtesy the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London
ART IS ALIVE 