“Echoes of Harlem” is a collaboration between Faith Ringgold and her mother that positions Harlem residents’ faces together in a collaged quilt.

Additionally, in her children’s books, displayed on the last floor, Ringgold captures what it means to be Black in America as she retells the stories of civil rights activists such as Rosa Parks in “ If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks” and Martin Luther King Jr. T hrough her use of visual language, Ringgold makes her work accessible to both children and adults as she aims to inform all people.

Her other work depicts joyful scenes, such as “Tar Beach #2” (1990), a piece that celebrates the urban landscape and imagination with imagery of Black children dreaming and flying around the colorful city against the New York skyline. Ringgold’s multidisciplinary art highlights a history of Black trauma and resilience, like the high tension within the piece “We Came to America” (1997), which depicts the drowning of Black people. She documents her life as a mother and artist, while also narrating the experience of influential African American figures and movements for example, her poster “ Power to the People ” (1970) advocated for the Black Panther Party and freeing political prisoners with simple geometric shapes and primary colors.Īs one of the most influential creators of her generation, the Harlem-born artist has spent decades exploring the intersections between the Black liberation and women’s liberation movements. Ringgold’s work blurs the lines between reality and fiction as she narrates collective histories of Blackness through autobiographical and fictional narratives. This retrospective takes an exhaustive look at Ringgold’s pieces, exploring everything from her work in children’s books to her artistic practice in quilting. As an artist, author and educator, Ringgold narrates the histories of Black America through her work and raises difficult political topics through playful visuals. 17 to June 5, the exhibit spans over 60 years of Ringgold’s career and occupies half of the museum’s limited space. Now, Ringgold’s work has made its way downtown for her first - and long-overdue - retrospective, “Faith Ringgold: American People.”Ĭurrently on display in the New Museum from Feb. She has redefined the narrative for Black female artists her pieces are featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection, and she’s taken on the role of an activist through her work documenting the civil rights movement, switching between textiles and paintings. Faith Ringgold is a trailblazer in the modern American art scene.

Faith ringgold books