As long as there are artists like Henry Taylor around, painting is in little danger of dying.
That is because Taylor, like most great painters, has reinvented the medium for his own purposes, reshaped it to his own particular needs.
Those needs seem complex, encompassing and exceptionally empathetic.
They are those of an ambitious artist attempting to give as full an account as he can of Black life in America, starting with his own, and spiraling out to family, friends and fellow artists (some of whom are white) as well as Black figures from politics and culture, and urgent issues like incarceration and racial violence.
In “Henry Taylor: B Side,” a thrilling survey at the Whitney Museum, you will see paintings of the artist watching his toddler daughter feed herself; Barack and Michelle Obama sitting cozy on a couch; Philando Castile dying in his car after being shot by a Minneapolis policeman; a self-portrait based on a 16th-century portrait of King Henry V in profile wearing royal regalia; and the great Chuck Berry performing for a group of slightly dazed-looking white teenagers.
Persons:
Henry Taylor, Taylor, “ Henry Taylor, Michelle Obama, Castile, King Henry V, Chuck Berry
Organizations:
Whitney Museum
Locations:
America, Minneapolis