Jacob Lawrence was a renowned African American artist. Lawrence’s work became widely known in the 1940s. He was well-known for his depictions of African American life and history, as well as his use of vivid colours and simplistic forms. His art centered on African Americans’ experiences, including their hardships and achievements. He conveys complex subjects relating to African American history and culture. Lawrence gained recognition for his “Migration Series,” a collection of 60 paintings depicting the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North in the early 20th century. He explored a single theme across multiple paintings in his use of series or cycles. His work has been shown in major museums all around the world,
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Throughout his career, Lawrence was committed to using art as a means of social commentary and political activism. If you like Jacob Lawrence, you will like these artists:
Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Njideka Akunyili Crosby (b. 1983) is a Nigerian visual artist who uses collage and photo transfer techniques to negotiate the cultural landscape between her adopted home in America and her native Nigeria. Her paintings reflect her personal experience with cultural hybridity, which is a prominent theme in her work. Her dense, vibrant portraits create intimate domestic scenarios by combining photos from fashion magazines, photographs of Nigerian pop stars, and selections from the artist’s own family photo albums. Her work has been shown in prestigious institutions such as the Whitney Museum, MOCA Los Angeles, Harlem’s Studio Museum, and London’s National Portrait Gallery.
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Otobong Nkanga
Otobong Nkanga (born 1974) is a Nigerian-born visual and performance artist living in Antwerp, Belgium. She is mostly known for her large installations. She creates narratives that reflect on memory, environment, and the postcolonial histories of Africa and the Western world through her performances, sculptures, drawings, paintings, textiles, photographs, and installations. In her work, she explores the social and topographical changes in her surroundings, observes their inherent complexities, and understands how resources such as soil and earth, and their potential values, are subject to regional and cultural analysis. Her work is connected to the places she has lived as she perceives that what happens in one impacts what happens in another. Nkanga explores subjects such as neocolonialism, ecological aggression, and environmental protection in her work. Her work has been exhibited at numerous venues, including the Tate Modern, the KW Institute (Berlin), the Stedelijk Museum, and the Sharjah Biennale.
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Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami (born 1993) is a painter based in London, England. Her work raises questions on sexuality, race, gender, and spirituality. She explores themes such as diaspora, displacement, and identity in her work. She blends visual elements from various sources, such as online images and personal photographs, which collapse the past and present. The Zimbabwean-born artist draws on her own experiences of geographical migration and displacement. Many of her paintings include self-portraits as well as photographs of her immediate and extended family. Hwami’s paintings feature tender portraits of Black subjects, free-associative abstract brushwork, and layered collage elements. Her works are both intimate and chaotic, immediate and timeless. Her art has been acquired by numerous public collections, including Nando’s Art Collection in the United Kingdom, Fondation Blachere in France, and the Sindika Dokolo Foundation in Angola.
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