Faith Ringgold

by Hans Ulrich Obrist (Author), Faith Ringgold (Author), Michelle Wallace (Author), Melissa Blanchflower (Editor), Natalia Grabowska (Editor), Melissa Larner (Editor)

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Famed for her narrative quilts and her brightly colored paintings of African American life, New York artist Faith Ringgold (born 1930) has consistently challenged perceptions of identity and gender inequality through the lenses of the feminist and the civil rights movements.

As cultural assumptions and prejudices persist, her work retains its contemporary resonance both for observers and for fellow artists inspired by her narrative mastery and her ability to give mythical power to scenes of everyday life.

Focusing on different series that she has created over the past 50 years, this monograph portrays the breadth of her work, including paintings, story quilts and political posters made during the Black Power movement. The book also includes an interview with the artist conducted by Hans Ulrich Obrist, as well as an essay written by the artist’s daughter, Michelle Wallace.

Faith Ringgold

A fervent civil rights and gender equality activist, Faith Ringgold has produced an inherently political oeuvre. In the early 1970s, she abandoned traditional oils for painting in acrylic on unstretched canvas with fabric borders, a technique evoking Tibetan thangkas (silk paintings with embroidery). The painted narrative quilts for which Ringgold is best known grew out of these early paintings, and denounce racism and discrimination with their subject matter. Combining quilt making, genre painting, and story telling through images and hand-written texts, the series “The American Collection” (1997) endeavors to rewrite African American art history, emphasizing the importance of family, roots, and artistic collaboration. In addition to demonstrating against the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney over what she perceives to be their exclusion of black and female artists, Ringgold has co-founded groups to support these demographics. – Artsy.net

Product Details

Paperback: 160 pages
ISBN-13: 978-3960986331
Dimensions: 21.84 x 1.52 x 25.91 cm
Publisher: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther Konig; 1st edition (1 Oct. 2019)
Language: English

Editorial Reviews

"This new paperback book features the narrative quilts and brightly colored paintings of the legendary New York artist...as injustices continue today, works such as these retain their contemporary resonance and inspire a new generation of creatives."

Lucy Rees

Galerie

"Every one of [Ringgold's] images tells a story, as often to uplift as critique and almost always in bright, bold and inviting ways."

Bob Morris

New York Times