Mann About Town Features Clarence James and ‘Color and Grit’
As seen in the Mann About Town Magazine Publication 24th, 2024
Clarence James emerges amidst the booming New York art scene in late September with an exhibition that has brought an awareness to the future of Black voices in art through a revision of history. His latest exhibition at DTR Modern Galleries, “Color and Grit: The New Frontier of Black Abstraction” has become a power testament to identity, legacy and resilience. The exhibition aimed to illuminate the forgotten figure in American history, the Black cowboy, in American history through the lens of Black abstraction in contemporary art.
On canvas, James uses acrylic, spray paint and oil stick with textured brushstrokes, bold contrasting colors and media influences to bring meaning to his abstract works. His canvases symbolize new spaces for identity. He has proven that abstraction “can be as much about story and identity as it is about form and color. His work pushes the boundaries of the genre, offering a new vision of what Black abstraction can achieve - a vision that is as much about reclaiming the past as it is about forging the future.
