Kerry James Marshall is an internationally acclaimed artist. Marshall enhances the presence of Black figures in paintings built on principles codified in the tradition of Western picture-making he encountered in books and museums available during his childhood. He places Black bodies front and centre in his lyrical, frequently large-scale figurative paintings and murals.

Marshall’s work is informed by his own memories, art historical styles and genres, contemporary culture and science fiction, among other points of reference. He uses these to comment on the past, celebrate everyday life, and imagine more optimistic futures.

Organized thematically, this exhibition features 70 works including a new series of paintings made especially for the show and his commemorative sculpture Wake which evolves each time it is exhibited.