“Would you trust this man with your daughter?” If you said no, then you just turned down Nelson Mandela–Nobel Peace Prize winner, humanitarian, global change maker, etc., etc., etc.,–as a future son-in-law. Shame on you.
I attended the opening of “Marlene Dumas: Prints + Multiples” at the Kyle Kauffman Gallery last night and was immediately taken with the provocative question scribbled under Portrait of a Young Nelson Mandela. Dumas, who grew up in South Africa under apartheid, turns racial (and dating) profiling into art.
Since she doesn’t care too much for labels I won’t attempt to categorize her, but I will say that like Portrait, much of Dumas’ work is provocative and controversial.
In conjunction with the Kauffman’s exhibit in Chelsea, MoMA is displaying a more extensive collection of Dumas’ work that reflect “themes of race, sexuality, and social identity…to create a unique perspective on important and controversial issues of the day.”
– Grace A. Ali
of note 