Lubiana Himid, Sheila Pepe

Episode No. 403 features artists Lubaina Himid and Sheila Pepe.

The New Museum is presenting "Lubaina Himid: Work from Underneath" through October 6. It is Himid's first solo museum exhibition in the United States. Lubaina Himid was a pioneer of the British Black Arts Movement of the 1980s and '90s. Her work has consistently examined the consequences of colonialism while celebrating the African diaspora, all while making use of the art historical constructs devised by the cultures she critiques. The exhibition was curated by Natalie Bell. The New Museum published an excellent catalogue for the show. Amazon offers it for just $17!

Himid's work has been the subject of recent solo shows at the Baltic Center for Contemporary Art and the Platt Hall Museum of Costume at the Manchester Galleries. She was included in the 2018 Berlin Biennale. Her work is well held by the Tate Britain. She won the 2017 Turner Prize.

On the second segment, Sheila Pepe discusses work of hers on view -- 19 in all! -- in "Queer Abstraction" at the Des Moines Art Center. Pepe's  work often brings craft techniques to sculpture and installation, expanding the possibilities of both technique and media. A recent mid-career survey of Pepe's work, titled "Hot Mess Formalism," originated at the Phoenix Museum of Art and traveled to the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, and to the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Mass.

"Queer Abstraction" is on view through September 8. It was curated by Jared Ledesma. The fine catalogue was published by DMAC, but is not yet available online.