Kerry James Marshall. The Histories

From 18 September 2026 to 24 January 2027, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris presents the first exhibition in France dedicated to American artist Kerry James Marshall (born in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA).

Organised by the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and in collaboration with the Kunsthaus Zurich, the exhibition Kerry James Marshall: The Histories* presents seventy works, including eight new paintings created especially for the exhibition.

Considered one of the most influential contemporary painters, Kerry James Marshall is known for his monumental compositions that give a central place to Black people, frequently elevating the mundane to the epic.

By inscribing these figures into art historical archetypes, the artist invites the viewer to appreciate the undeniable power of their presence.

Kerry James Marshall addresses themes such as the forced journey of enslaved Africans to the Americas, the legacy of Black American mobilisations like the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, without ever directly depicting violence and alienation.

His work draws inspiration from both the established canon of Western art history and other forms of visual expression from popular culture, notably 19th-century French painting, contemporary culture, Afrofuturism, comic books, and science fiction.

Conceived with the artist's support, the exhibition aims to trace more than four decades of his career.

It presents numerous cycles of work that primarily unfold in the field of painting but also through prints, drawings, and a sculpture, sourced from museums and private collections in North America and Europe.

The Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris honours the work of Kerry James Marshall, continuing a series of pioneering monographic exhibitions in France dedicated to Black American artists, including Kara Walker (2007) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (2010).

Kerry James Marshall works in series and cycles, as evidenced by the chrono-thematic organisation of the exhibition.