Last Weeks for MASTRY

There's so much to think and say about the Kerry James Marshall show at the Met Breuer (forever called "Old Whitney"?)--but now the most important thing is that it will end on January 29, 2017 and shouldn't be missed.

The show is powerful on many levels. Huge artworks surround you, revealing a vision pursued through 35 years of painting. The paintings delight for their visual impact

and for the hitherto unseen subject matter--everyday life for many blacks in America.

I'm realizing now that I didn't begin to photograph the many paintings that had me mesmerized. Marshall's views of life in the barbershop, the beauty parlor, and the projects, his riffs on The Invisible Man, and his portraits are captivating--there's so much to absorb.

And I got caught up in the boffo romantic scenes.

I first became aware of Kerry James Marshall's work in the lobby at the MoMA show of the complete Jacob Lawrence Migration Series. So I'd like to close with this image by Lawrence, one of about 40 works Marshall chose to highlight artists who influenced his work, including Seurat, Ingres, Toulouse Lautrec, and Romare Bearden.