Kerry James Marshall

Kerry James Marshall (born 1955)

Marshall moved from Birmingham, Alabama, to Los Angeles as a child and graduated from Otis Art Institute (BFA, 1978). He is based in Chicago, where he taught at the University of Illinois School of Art and Design (1993-2006). Marshall’s mixed media paintings examine social and political complexities of African American history and contemporary experience; they feature stylized figures characterized by the extreme, symbolic blackness of their skin. His distinctions include a MacArthur Fellowship (1997).

Important Source Material:

Marshall, Kerry James, Arthur Jafa, and Terrie Sultan. Kerry James Marshall. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2000.

Reid, Calvin. “Kerry James Marshall.” BOMB Magazine. Winter 1998: 41-47.

Tapp, Mara. “Visible Man.” Chicago Magazine. Oct. 2003: 102-107, 136-137.

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