Kerry James Marshall: The Histories
20 September 2025 - 18 January 2026
Main Galleries | Burlington House
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The biggest UK survey of American painter Kerry James Marshall.
Kerry James Marshall is an internationally acclaimed artist. Marshall enhances the presence of Black figures in paintings built on principles codified in the tradition of Western picture-making he encountered in books and museums available during his childhood. He places Black bodies front and centre in his lyrical, frequently large-scale figurative paintings and murals.
Marshall’s work is informed by his own memories, art historical styles and genres, contemporary culture and science fiction, among other points of reference. He uses these to comment on the past, celebrate everyday life, and imagine more optimistic futures.
Organised thematically, this exhibition features 70 works including a new series of paintings made especially for the show and his commemorative sculpture Wake which evolves each time it is exhibited.
Exhibition organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London in collaboration with the Kunsthaus Zurich and the Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris.
Our Friends preview days take place 17 September, 10am–6pm, 18 September, 10am–6pm, and 19 September 10am–9pm.
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Supported by
With additional support from
The Bob Rennie Collection
Gallery
Better Homes, Better Gardens, 1994
Untitled (Studio), 2014
Untitled (policeman), 2015
Vignette #13, 2008
Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Himself 1776, 2007
Untitled (Underpainting), 2018
School of Beauty, School of Culture, 2012
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