The curator’s craft · 05
Helen Molesworth and Kerry James Marshall: rewriting painting’s canon
Mastry framed thirty-five years of painting as a history of Black representation without separating visual pleasure from political responsibility.
A retrospective that corrects the museum
Mastry assembled nearly eighty paintings from thirty-five years. It was co-organised by Helen Molesworth for MOCA, Ian Alteveer for the Met and Dieter Roelstraete for MCA Chicago.
Marshall centres Black figures in historical, intimate and everyday scenes through a deep knowledge of Western painting. The curatorial project makes this ambition legible without turning the paintings into social documents.
Chronology, series, comparisons
The route began with works related to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, moved through love, public housing, history and revolt, and reached artists in their studios during the Obama years. Form and politics develop together.
Series restore comparisons the market fragments. Gardens, portraits and domestic scenes reveal citations, symbols and variations, placing each painting in its visual system.
Looking beyond auction records
Market attention can narrow vision to a few masterpieces and exceptional prices. Mastry reminds us that historical importance, painterly quality and auction result are different facts.
Study series, year, support, bibliography, exhibitions and provenance. Public conversations between Molesworth and Marshall add the artist’s voice, explaining decisions a price cannot record.
Sources and further reading
Sources allow readers to verify and explore. Official artist links are part of the feature, not an appendix.
ADVAcquistare Arte recommends: Resin-sealed books, words and layered images turn melancholy into a material narrative.
Painting · memory · collage
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