Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem
Frye Art Museum, 2021

With works in a variety of mediums by nearly 80 artists dating from the 1920s to the present, Black Refractions presented close to a century of creative achievements by artists of African descent, and celebrated The Studio Museum in Harlem’s role as a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society.

For the title treatment, I chose Zeta Fonts Blacker Pro, a wedge serif, for its high contrast and blade-like shapes, which provided strong visual contrast when set against Barkley L. Hendricks portrait, Lawdy Mama (1969). Both gold and a deep purple were used in the colour palette to highlight the regality of Hendricks’ portrait, which elevated the Black figure to the veneration of a saint.

Credits

Connie H. Choi, Curator, Studio Museum in Harlem
Amanda Donnan, Curator, Frye Art Museum
David Strand, Associate Curator
Shane Montgomery, Exhibition Designer
Ingrid Langston, Head of Communications

Primary image

Barkley L. Hendricks. Lawdy Mama, 1969. Oil and gold leaf on canvas. 53 ¾ x 36 ¼ in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Stuart Liebman, in memory of Joseph B. Liebman 1983.25. © Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks. Courtesy of the artist's estate, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York and American Federation of Arts.

Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in HarlemFrye Art Museum, 2021

Credits

Connie H. Choi, Curator, Studio Museum in HarlemAmanda Donnan, Curator, Frye Art MuseumDavid Strand, Associate CuratorShane Montgomery, Exhibition DesignerIngrid Langston, Head of Communications

Primary image

Typeset in Blacker Pro by Zeta Fonts and Whitney by Hoefler&Co.

Frye Art Museum Rebrand

Group Therapy

Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem
Frye Art Museum, 2021

Connie H. Choi, Curator, Studio Museum in Harlem
Amanda Donnan, Curator, Frye Art Museum
David Strand, Associate Curator
Shane Montgomery, Exhibition Designer
Ingrid Langston, Head of Communications