Kerry James Marshall: The Histories – Royal Academy, UK

Internationally acclaimed artist Kerry James Marshall is one of the most important painters working right now.

His vivid and mostly large-scale paintings place the Black figure front and centre. Marshall builds upon the Western tradition of history painting and makes visible those people who were so noticeably absent in the works that came before him.

These powerful paintings are full of references which span art history, civil rights, comics, science fiction, his own memories and more. He uses these to comment on the past, celebrate everyday life and imagine more optimistic futures.

This exhibition of his paintings will be the largest outside of the US, and the first chance for many to experience his works in the UK.

See 70 works including his monumental commission from the Chicago Public Library, Knowledge and Wonder (1995), which has never been loaned before.