In the Tower: Kerry James Marshall

The artist in his studio, Chicago. Photo courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

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In the Tower Gallery with Kerry James Marshall

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Baptist, 1992, acrylic and collage on canvas, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund

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Gulf Stream, 2003, acrylic and glitter on canvas, Collection Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, T. B. Walker Acquisition Fund, 2004

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Voyager, 1992, acrylic and collage on canvas, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Gift of the Women’s Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1993.1.2, © 2004 Kerry James Marshall c/o Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

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Four people with black skin are squeezed into a narrow boat on bright, turquoise-colored water that nearly fills this stylized, square painting. All four sides of the unstretched canvas are lined with six gromets spaced along each edge. The boat approaches a carnival-like tunnel near the upper right corner. Cartoon ghosts loom at the tunnel entrance and a translucent, veil-like ghost hovers over the left half of the painting. The horizon comes almost to the top of the canvas, where white clouds float against an azure-blue sky. A long, lemon-yellow line curls back and forth in a tight, curving zigzag pattern that widens out from a tiny sun setting on the horizon. A red cross on a white field floats near the upper left. At the top center, the word “WOW” appears in white letters within a crimson-red, bursting speech bubble with long trailing tendrils, like an exploded firework. Below the boat and against the water to our right, the word “FUN” has been overlaid with a white square so the tall, white letters are barely visible. The words “GREAT AMERICA” appear in a curling banner across the bottom half of the painting.

Great America, 1994, acrylic and collage on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Gift of the Collectors Committee

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Plunge, 1992, acrylic and collage on canvas, Geri and Mason Haupt, © Kerry James Marshall. Photo courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

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Our Town, 1995, acrylic and collage on canvas, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. Photography by Vancouver Art Gallery

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Bang, 1994, acrylic and collage on canvas, The Progressive Art Collection. Photo courtesy of The Progressive Corporation, Mayfield Village, Ohio

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Installation view of In the Tower: Kerry James Marshall. Left: Study for "Visible Means of Support: Monticello," 2008, acrylic on PVC panel, Rodney M. Miller Collection, courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Right: Study for "Visible Means of Support: Mount Vernon,” 2008, acrylic on PVC panel, Pat and Bill Wilson, San Francisco. Photo by Rob Shelley © 2013 National Gallery of Art, Washington

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Portrait of Nat Turner with the Head of His Master, 2011, oil on canvas, Private collection

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