University of California Press Stick to the Skin: African American and Black British Art, 1965-2015

The first comparative history of African American and Black British artists, artworks, and art movements, Stick to the Skin traces the lives and works of over fifty painters, photographers, sculptors, and mixed-media, assemblage, installation, video, and performance artists working in the United States and Britain from 1965 to 2015. The artists featured in this book cut to the heart of hidden histories, untold narratives, and missing memories to tell stories that "stick to the skin" and arrive at a new "Black lexicon of liberation." Informed by extensive research and invaluable oral testimonies, Celeste-Marie Bernier’s remarkable text forcibly asserts the originality and importance of Black artists’ work and emphasizes the need to understand Black art as a distinctive category of cultural production. She launches an important intervention into European histories of modern and contemporary art and visual culture as well as into debates within African American studies, African diasporic studies, and Black British studies. Artists featured: Larry Achiampong Hurvin Anderson Benny Andrews Rasheed Araeen Jean-Michel Basquiat Zarina Bhimji Sutapa Biswas Frank Bowling Sonia Boyce Vanley Burke Chila Kumari Burman Eddie Chambers Thornton Dial Godfried Donkor Kimathi Donkor Sokari Douglas Camp Melvin Edwards Mary Evans Nicola Frimpong Joy Gregory Bessiey Harvey Mona Hatoum Lubaina Himid Lonnie Holley Gavin Jantjes Claudette Johnson Tam Joseph Roshini Kempadoo Juginder Lamba Hew Locke Steve McQueen Chris Ofili Keith Piper Ingrid Pollard Thomas J. Price Noah Purifoy Faith Ringgold Donald Rodney Betye Saar Joyce J. Scott Yinka Shonibare Gurminder Sikand Marlene Smith Maud Sulter Barbara Walker Kara Walker Carrie Mae Weems Deborah Willis Hank Willis Thomas Lynette Yiadom-Boakye