That's pretty cool. Haven't checked the article yet, so feel free to direct me there if it's answered there, but how did the acquisition start? Was it more of a submission and approval thing, or did someone reach out to you?
Well...let's explain Museum, Gallery, Artist Relationship.
Museums sometimes do art calls or artist submissions. It's where you send in your artist statement (what your art is about in the submitted lot. Lot: A group of works for an event, show or auction), artist biography, proposal and CV. If the Curator loves your work they give you a Museum show. But museums are very anal about provenance. Provenance is the paper trail of the art piece. Great provenance should trail directly back to the date and even time the art work was completed and picked up by a gallery and Museum. So stating this, museums will work with galleries moreso than the artist. It's easier to do since most of the time artists are locked away in our tombs...I mean studio working.
The gallery in question is the lovely Dr. Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans on St. Charles St. She is basically the Duchess of Harlem in the Southern Black Art World. She knew 2 of my fave artists: Elizabeth Catlett and Jacob Lawrence. It's weird visiting someone home and seeing a freaking sculpture, not a cast but a real life sculpture of the woman you were studying and idolizing in someone home. She has beacoup photos of her and Jacob Lawrence too. And she also has originals of his.
The story of the acquisition works like this. I and my 1st solo show in New Orleans in July 2nd 2021. Prior to that I met Lisane Basquiat on IG. I have a thing for older women and she is beacoup gorgeous to esp her skin tone. It's rich as fukk honestly. Very paint worthy. Anyway. I did the piece, "Maman Brigitte: Maman's Day" and she was the 1st person to see it. Ever. So when I saw her reaction as a black woman who is a mother...I knew this piece would be a hit. So in August 2021 the Curator of the NOMA was coming by to pick up a piece from Dr. Samella Lewis and caught my work. She instantly had to know who I was. And then boom! Dr. Jones worked her magic and I got in. As you can see the piece was the headline of the 2021 acquisition.
Everyone loves that piece but sometimes I wish it could've been a black god that got in. But I'm sure there will be more works that will be masculine that gets in eventually.
noma.org
