Barkley Hendricks: Photography (Vol. 4)

Description

Though primarily a painter, Hendricks credits photography as a key to his practice, which he studied under Walker Evans and often uses as reference to create his stunning, photorealistic portraits. For the first time, they are grouped together in a dedicated volume. Skira and Jack Shainman Gallery have partnered to realize an unprecedented book project dedicated to the artist Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017). The project consists of 4 booklets, each of which provides an in-depth exploration of a body of work integral to the artist's output (Works on Paper, Landscape Paintings, Basketball Paintings, Photography), in addition to a comprehensive 300-page monograph which traces the artist's evolution for the entirety of his career.

Jack Shainman Gallery has represented Hendricks since 2009. His solo exhibitions at Jack Shainman Gallery include Heart Hands Eyes Mind (2013), Barkley L. Hendricks (2016) and Them Changes (2018). Terry R. Myers is a critic, independent curator, and Professor of Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

His full-length realist paintings of mostly Black figures set against monochromatic backgrounds are celebrated for their sartorial swagger. But between 1984 and 2002, the artist stopped making these works. Instead, as these books bring to the fore, his output was dominated by other equally compelling interests, which the photography installment beautifully conveys.--Jane Ursula Harris "Bookforum" One of these lesser-known aspects of Hendricks's art is his photography, selections of which feature in Barkley L. Hendricks: Photography (Skira), the latest in a new line of books devoted to different facets of the artist's life and work.--Andy Battalgia "ARTnews" Hendricks is revealed as a prolific and impressive photographer [...] Hendricks took in the world through his lens, often using photographs he took of particularly stylish or confident-looking people on the street as the basis for his portraits.--Caroline Goldstein "Artnet" Hendricks's photographs share his trademark wit and pride. Whatever the medium, his sensibility comes through.--Arthur Lubow "New York Times" Unseen photographs gathered in [this] new publication...looking at how aspects of his painting and photography overlapped...photographs mirror[ing] his full-length paintings of friends and colleagues...casual domestic scenes, American landscapes, and city scenes...with an element of quiet humor.--Gareth Harris "Art Newspaper" Barkley L. Hendricks revolutionized postmodern Black portraiture. This volume, the fourth in a five-part series dedicated to Hendricks' career, focuses on the artist's photographic oeuvre.--Kerry Pieri "Harper's Bazaar"