The Contemporary Arts Center will kick off its season with Art and Race Matters, the first major survey of the work of the underrepresented and highly influential artist Robert Colescott since 1987. Colescott was known for his often-satirical paintings, which examine both the broad scope of black history and his own identity. Having begun his career in Portland, Oregon and Seattle in the 1950s and ’60s, Colescott drew inspiration from the civil rights movement. Through his work, he touches on the historical exclusion of people from African descent and blackness as it is presented in popular culture. The CAC show will navigate the breadth of his work over a stretch of 40 years, presenting it at a time the museum says his work has never been more relevant. Sept. 20, 2019-Jan. 12, 2020. Free. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, contemporaryartscenter.org.
This article appears in Aug 21-28, 2019.
