Black Star 2 2012

Kerry James Marshall’s ‘Black Star 2’ is a large painting that sets up a dialogue between figure and ground. The figure of a dark skinned Black woman is set against a background of interlocking geometric stars, painted in red, green and black. The artist has used a masterful mix of matte and glossy blacks in the figure, emphasizing the subtle gradations of tone. I think he's thinking about visibility and invisibility. The flatness of the woman is intentional, and it pushes her forward, almost like a collage. Kerry James Marshall has spoken of how he wanted to tackle the invisibility of Black figures in Western painting, and the way he has rendered her is both powerful and complex. The clean lines of the stars act as a sharp contrast, and their colors pop – a clear nod, I think, to the Pan-African flag. It’s like Marshall is in conversation with artists like Matisse and Romare Bearden who also merged figuration and abstraction. Isn't it amazing how artists keep responding to each other across time?