Lehman College Art Gallery is pleased to present Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art. This exhibition of work produced by artists of African descent is drawn exclusively from the highly regarded private collection of Bernard I. Lumpkin and Carmine D. Boccuzzi. Although many works in the Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection have been lent to museums over the years, Young, Gifted and Black is the first stand-alone public exhibition curated from this exceptional collection. Young, Gifted and Black draws from this collection to shed new light on works by contemporary artists of African descent. At a moment when debates about the politics of visibility within the art world have taken on renewed urgency, and establishment voices such as the New York Times are declaring that “it has become undeniable that African American artists are making much of the best American art today,” Young, Gifted and Black takes stock of how these new voices are impacting the way we think about identity, politics and art history itself.

The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection – featuring contemporary artworks in all mediums made during the last 20 years – has been recognized for showcasing some of the best voices in African-American art today. Co-curated by writer and critic Antwaun Sargent, and collection curator and artist, Matt Wycoff, “Young, Gifted and Black” presents a selection of seminal early-career works from the collection by artists who are well-established (Kara Walker, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas), on the rise (Allison Janae Hamilton, Paul Sepuya, Cy Gavin), and still emerging (Wilmer Wilson IV, Arcmanoro Niles, Sable Elyse Smith). The exhibit highlights the formative – and transformative – impact of early works on an artist’s oeuvre, and foregrounds the important relationship between emerging artists and mission driven patrons who are committed to supporting young artists at the earliest stage of their professional lives, when they are making the work which will serve as the foundation for their future careers.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Derrick Adams • Tunji Adeniyi-Jones • Sadie Barnette • Kevin Beasley • Nayland Blake • Jordan Casteel • Jonathan Lyndon Chase • Caitlin Cherry • Bethany Collins • Cy Gavin • Alteronce Gumby • Allison Janae Hamilton • David Hammons • Kenyatta A. C. Hinkle • Lonnie Holley • Tomashi Jackson • Angie Jennings • Rashid Johnson • Deana Lawson • Glenn Ligon • Eric N. Mack • Kerry James Marshall • Troy Michie • Wardell Milan • Narcissister • Arcmanoro Niles • Clifford Owens • Jennifer Packer • Adam Pendleton • Christina Quarles • Andy Robert • Latoya Ruby-Frazier • Jacolby Satterwhite • Paul Mpagi Sepuya • Gerald Sheffield • Lorna Simpson • Sable Elyse Smith • Vaughn Spann • Henry Taylor • Chiffon Thomas • Mickalene Thomas • William Villalongo • Kara Walker • Nari Ward • D’Angelo Lovell Williams • Wilmer Wilson IV • Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Annual Gallery programs are supported in part by:

Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation; Medora and John Geary Family Fund; Edith and Herbert Lehman Foundation; Robert Lehman Foundation; The New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, Inc.; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York City Council through the Bronx Delegation; and New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. 

Enjoy the Artists’ Interviews Below