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The Arts Intel Report

David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History

Oct 6, 2021 – Jan 9, 2022
1600 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20009, United States

A face split down the middle, half of it stylized and ornate, the other half hyperrealistic. A collage that recalls Picasso and Van Gogh, but also Jacob Lawrence and the African diaspora. Over seven decades the American artist David Driskell produced striking and diverse work in several media (painting, printmaking, collage), in styles both figurative and abstract. A new exhibition—the first to unite his paintings and works on paper, and also the first major survey of his work since his death in April of 2020—presents seven decades of Driskell. Viewers can chart his evolving use of collage as well as his signature incorporation of African imagery. —J.V.

David C. Driskell, “Night Vision (for Jacob Lawrence),” 2005. Collection of Richard and Barbara Schiffrin, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania © Estate of David C. Driskell, courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York.