Barkley L. Hendricks at Jack Shainman Gallery
Barkley L. Hendricks, Untitled, 1981
Oil, acrylic, and aluminum leaf on linen, 72 × 40″. © Barkley L. Hendricks. Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks.
Flamboyance is a defining attribute of the stylish, life-size Black characters taking center stage in the large portrait paintings of Barkley L. Hendricks (1945–2017). The congregation of chic figures he represented, beginning in the 1960s, described a new African American aesthetic that blasted out from the conflicts of the civil rights movement. His was a vision that coincided with the liberated vibe of blaxploitation films; the activism and glamour of Black Power; and the exultant delirium of disco, funk, soul, and R&B music.