04/03/2025
We are thrilled about the Centre Pompidou’s exhibition “Paris Noir (Black Paris) 1950-2000” which opened in March 19th and will be on view through June 30th.
“From the creation of the ‘Présence Africaine’ review to that of ‘Revue noire,’ ‘Black Paris’ retraces the presence and influence of Black artists in France from 1950s to 2000. The exhibition celebrates 150 artists coming from Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, whose works have often never been displayed in France before.”
The show features works by Ted Joans, including his “Black Power Postcard,” 1964-1996, ink on photograph, 14 x 8,7 cm, private collection. (Image 3)
Ted Joans, an American poet and painter, was deeply involved in the avant-garde cultural movements of 20th-century Paris. While in Paris in the 1960s, Joans embraced the role of a “Black surrealist,” fusing surrealism with the influences from the Harlem Renaissance and Negritude. There, he connected with figures such as André Breton, Michel Leiris, and James Baldwin. Joans’ collaboration with the Présence africaine magazine helped solidify his connections to the African diaspora, further emphasized by his publication of Proposition for a Black Power Manifesto (1968). In Paris, Joans also began his Black Power Postcard project, symbolizing his search for a Pan-African identity. His artistic and intellectual pursuits in the city became the foundation of his broader global involvement in African liberation and civil rights movements. Through his time in Paris, Joans crafted an itinerant, dynamic body of work that was deeply engaged with the cultural and political movements of his time.
The show also features paintings by Ed Clark, including “Red, Blue, & Black (Paris Series #4),” 1989, acrylic on canvas, courtesy the Estate and Hauser & Wirth. (Image 4)
Cover (Image 1): Gerard Sekoto, “Self-portrait,” 1947, The Kilbourn Collection - © Estate of Gerard Sekoto/ Adagp, Paris, 2025 - Photo © Jacopo Salvi
Zurcher Gallery, NY 
