There’s a devastating blend of beauty and brutality, and a righteous fury to key works such as Die (1967): its sprawl of bodies is reminiscent of Picasso’s Guernica (which Ringgold would often visit at NY’s Museum of Modern Art) in the midst of the violence are two kids – one black, one white – sheltering each other in a terrified embrace. Ringgold’s expressions became increasingly visceral, in reaction to the US struggle for racial equality. Once you create an image, even if not many people see it, it’s a permanent form of expression.” And I was able to create my art without any restrictions. “It was very difficult, but I didn’t know anything else. I caught everything I could – but I also got left out of all the shows. “It was a period where everything was happening, every day. “The ‘60s were so vibrant,” she enthuses. The 1960s brought crucial turning points – including the 1964 US Civil Rights Act, which finally ended segregation in public spaces – and that creatively febrile, socially turbulent era also sealed the activist spirit of Ringgold’s art. Pieces from decades ago still feel intensely pertinent, and close to home. A celebration of Ringgold’s art – with many previously unseen works – has just opened at London’s Serpentine Gallery it is, Ringgold says, “a survey, not a retrospective”. Her high-profile fans include Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton and the late Maya Angelou. Over the past decade, there has been a kind of mainstream awakening Ringgold has proved a stand-out at acclaimed group shows including Tate Modern’s Soul Of A Nation: Art In The Age Of Black Power (2017), and inspires dedicated exhibitions. Lee Krasner: Dazzling artworks of vibrant colour It is fantastically vivacious, but also frequently speaks deeply uneasy truth to power. Ringgold’s art is vivid and far-ranging (embracing over a dozen media, from her trademark narrative-based ‘story quilts’ to iconic masks and stained glass) it captures the soul of the US – its pop culture and politics – and lays it bare. These days, crowds at major galleries clamour to see the work of Harlem-born painter/sculptor/writer and performance artist Faith Ringgold – but she has fought hard for that platform. Often, people don’t want to see that… but I don’t do what people want to see I do what I can.” “As an artist, I want to tell my story of the times – what I’ve lived through what we’re going through now.
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