Thank You, Radcliffe Bailey
A tribute to a legendary artist who sculpted Black history.
On November 15th, 2023, visual artist and maestro Radcliffe Bailey found peace after his battle with cancer. He is succeeded not only by his family, but by an incredible body of work, which has been displayed across museums across the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bailey’s contributions to the world of contemporary African-American art cannot be understated, the complexity with which he traced and connected African histories with contemporary Black realities continues to shape and inspire.
“In my work, I try to make something that is peaceful.” — Bailey
Bailey’s artistic vision
Through his work, but more broadly through his artistic approach, Bailey sought to capture the African American lived experience. Bailey used his work to represent the complexity of an interwoven, multicultural identity. He specifically tapped into his parents’ influence in his childhood and his youth in Atlanta, his relationship with music, specifically jazz, and the broader spiritual history of Kongo minkisi to do this.
Within this, he worked to document the realities of the African diaspora, considering the traumatic impact that slavery…
