Kerry James Marshall (born October 17, 1995) is an artist known for his paintings of Black figures, which challenge stereotypes and conventions in the Western canon of painting. Marshall attended the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, where he received a BFA in 1978 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1999. He has won many awards and honors, including the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University in 2019 and the Rosenberger Medal given by the University of Chicago in 2016. His work is included in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, LACMA, the Met, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, MoMA in New York, National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Whitney, among others.

Artist Statement