The absorbing retrospective of the work of American artist Kerry James Marshall at the Museum of Modern Art of Paris is so extensive in its depiction of Black figures that the artist can be excused for tooting his own horn. “I don’t think you will go to an exhibition and find a wider variety of different ways in which Black people are represented in anybody else’s exhibition, anywhere else in the world,” he toots with a proud smile in a video presented in the exhibition. “You’re never going to see the range of treatments of Black subjects that you will find in this exhibition anywhere, by anybody.”
Though many a sub-Saharan artist might find Marshall’s hubris cringeworthy for its US-centrism, this is indeed an impressive exhibition, highly recommended particularly for American residents and visitors in Paris. Titled “The Histories,” the retrospective is showing until January 24, 2027.
The 70 works in the exhibition are arranged chronologically and thematically, from the artist’s works of the 1980s to a series of eight works especially created for this show. All present an intelligible narrative, often through large-scale formats, making a “reading” of them easily accessible to all visitors, particularly with the assistance of the explanatory panels in French and in English.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1955, Marshall chose early in his development as an artist to focus on figurative and narrative painting that presents the life, history and experiences of Black people. His work is acutely American while maintaining a strong connection with African history and with the works of European artists of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, including many French artists. Black figures take center stage in Marshall’s paintings inspired by archetypal works by David, Manet, Gericault, Courbet, and others. His admiration for art in the museums of Paris clearly extends beyond those he echoes in his own work. As he says in the video visible at the exhibition, “I have never considered myself [having] much of an interest in Impressionist painting per se, but going there and seeing Monet paintings in person, you know, that’s a transformative experience, too. Those are miraculous paintings.”
Whether presenting a barbershop in Chicago, a beauty shop, a nightclub, visions of the Middle Passage (the forced shipping of enslaved Africans to the Americas), the landscapes of the homes of slave-owning presidents, portraits of Black artists and activists, or children in a museum, or depicting imaginary history scenes from Africa in the new series of eight paintings, “The Histories” is, for the viewer, a lesson in Black history and art history on the one hand, and a vibrant example of contemporary and American figurative painting on the other.
Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, 11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 16th arr. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 6 pm (Thursday until 9:30 pm). 17€.
Other current exhibitions of American artists
The Museum of Art is also presenting a major show of the work of Lebanese-American artist Simone Fattal, a resident of Paris who was born in Syria in 1942. The show is titled Cities at the Bottom of a Lake. A combined ticket with the Kerry James Marshall exhibition costs 20€.
Meanwhile, The Luxembourg Museum is currently showing the exhibition Andy Warhol: Line and Image, until January 10, 2027. Open daily 10:30 am to 7 pm (Monday until 10 pm). 14€.
© 2026, Gary Lee Kraut