Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Bierstadt's West

Episode No. 374 features artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby and curator Laura Fry.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby's work is on view at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in its latest "Focus" show, titled "Njideka Akunyili Crosby | Counterparts." MAMFW's "Focus" series is curated by Alison Hearst. "Crosby" originated at the Baltimore Museum of Art and curated by Kristen Hileman. The exhibition is on view in Fort Worth through January 13. Crosby has also designed a printed mural wrapped around the exterior of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles's Arata Isozaki-designed building.

Crosby's paintings typically feature elements such as textiles, printed media and flora from her experiences growing up in Nigeria and, now, living in the United States. Her solo show credits include the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Tang Museum at Skidmore College, the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach and a Hammer "Projects" exhibition. In 2017 she was awarded a MacArthur 'genius' grant.

On the second segment, Gilcrease Museum curator Laura Fry discusses "Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West," which is at the Gilcrease in Tulsa, Oklahoma through February 10. The exhibition spotlights Bierstadt's depictions of native cultures of the Great Plains as well as his views that include American bison. The Gilcrease co-organized "Bierstadt" with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. Peter H. Hassrick, the Buffalo Bill Center's director emeritus and senior scholar, curated it. The exhibition catalogue was published by University of Oklahoma Press. Amazon offers it for $35.