The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure

This internationally touring exhibition received a host of four and five star reviews from national critics while it was on display in London earlier this year.

Curated by writer Ekow Eshun, it showcases nearly 50 works of painting, drawing and sculpture by 22 of the UK and USA's most important living artists. The works have all been made since 2000 and highlight the use of figures to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black life.

As well as surveying the presence of the Black figure in Western art history, The Time is Always Now examines its absence, with large-scale, dazzling works that ask questions about race, identity, history and more.

Displayed across multiple spaces at The Box, this is the only chance to see the exhibition outside of London before it travels to America. There's no right or wrong way to experience it, but our recommended route is to start in our beautifully restored St Luke's gallery, before visiting the ground and first floors of our main building.

The Time is Always Now features 1998 Turner Prize winner Chris Ofili, 2017 Turner Prize nominee Hurvin Anderson, 2017 Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid, 2023 Turner Prize nominee Barbara Walker and Michelle Obama portraitist Amy Sherald.

Works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Michael Armitage, Jordan Casteel, Noah Davis, Godfried Donkor, Kimathi Donkor, Denzil Forrester, Claudette Johnson, Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Jennifer Packer, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Thomas J Price, Lorna Simpson and Henry Taylor are also on show.

Find out more

• The Black figure reframed to momentous effect - The Guardian
• Striking shades of brilliant black figurative art – The Guardian
• Ekow Eshun considers the Black figure in portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery - Wallpaper
• A stellar, stirring achievement – London Evening Standard
• Visual pleasures abound in this stirring celebration of black artists – The Telegraph
• A compelling transatlantic survey of painting – Financial Times
• Brilliant show puts Black artists at the centre – iNews

Image credit

Le Rodeur: The Exchange by Lubaina Himid, 2016 (detail). Courtesy of the artist and Hollybush Gardens, London. Photo: Andy Keate.