Nat-Shango (Thunder) by Kerry James Marshall on sale at Christie's New York

His paintings not only address the place of the black subject in the art historical canon – from the Renaissance to XNUMXth-century American abstraction – but also re-examine important figures in black history and demonstrate their continuing relevance today.

Marshall's richly patterned paintings, such as Nat-Shango (Thunder), weave together multiple layers of lived Black experience, referencing figures of Yoruban culture, to the lives of enslaved Africans, the subsequent American civil rights movement, and the contemporary black diaspora. Throughout his 40-year career as both an artist and a teacher, Marshall influenced generations of young artists and was a catalyst leader in the emergence of black figurative painting as the dominant art movement of the new century.

Paula Saracino Fendi, associate vice president of Christie's and specialist in 21st century art, said: “The current generation of critically acclaimed artists contributing to the contemporary debate about race and identity is doing so thanks to the pioneering work of Kerry James Marshall. For example, Jordan Casteel's depiction of the chromatic richness of black leather can be seen in direct dialogue with Marshall's monochromatic depictions. Not only has it played its important role in recontextualizing the race debate, but it has also enabled a new, younger, and perhaps louder generation to have their voices heard in shaping the current turning point in American history. ".

In Nat-Shango (Thunder), the life-sized figure of a man stands front and center, wielding an ax in each hand. Dressed in a light-colored shirt and ragged trousers, he stands barefoot next to a tree stump, perhaps a metaphor for the lost potential of entire generations of slaves. Scattered throughout the composition are an assemblage of enigmatic heads, a series of portraits of young white women taken from the covers of Harlequin's famous romance novels. In close proximity to the figure of Nat Turner, these two motifs address issues of beauty, race, and sexuality.

The painting is Marshall's retelling of the Nat Turner story, a Virginia preacher who was hanged in 1831 for leading an insurrection of fellow slaves. Turner believed he was divinely chosen to lead his people out of slavery, but the impact of the "Turner's Rebellion," as it became known, led to greater restrictions on the black population. Nonetheless, Turner was regarded as a martyred hero and an inspiration to those who followed him. Unlike most traditional history paintings, Nat-Shango (Thunder) is not just a retelling of the past; it also reflects the complex nature of the race debate, which resonates as deeply today as it did in the XNUMXth century.

The title Nat-Shango (Thunder) speaks to another important component of the black experience: shared African heritage. The title refers to the Shango of Thunder, Fire and Storms, an important figure in the Yoruba pantheon of Orisha spirits. Shango was a mortal warlord, king of the Oyo Empire, before dying and transcending into the heavens to become an orisha. Yoruba religious beliefs were part of the litany of songs, stories, stories and other cultural engagements that traveled with the enslaved peoples of West Africa on their journey to the New World.

Nat-Shango (Thunder) will be on display at Christie's in Los Angeles April 27-28 before traveling to New York for a show at Rockefeller Center prior to Christie's 20/21 Spring Auction Series.