In Los Angeles, artists consider the enduring legacy of the Black Diaspora

'It goes back to who we are as Black people and our story,' says gallerist Tanya Weddemire about 'Here Then and Now', an upcoming Los Angeles art exhibition on the Black Diaspora’s lived realities, memory and enduring legacy. 'And I think our stories are forever evolving, whether then, whether now and whether here.'

Organised by Weddemire’s eponymous New York-based gallery in partnership with Hamilton-Selway Fine Art in LA, the exhibition features work by the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gregory Saint Amand, Julie Mehretu, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley and Moses Salihou.

Curated by Weddemire and Ron Valdez, director of Hamilton-Selway Fine Art, the show opens during this year’s Black History Month and coincides with Frieze Los Angeles. We caught up with Weddemire to find out more.

Discover ‘Here Then and Now’ in Los Angeles

Wallpaper*: Tell us about the artists and artworks featured in the exhibition.

Tanya Weddemire: For this exhibition, we thought of bringing together blue-chip artists, emerging and established artists. When you look at the work of Kehinde Wiley, Julie Mehretu, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, you can see that their work to date has also created a pathway for emerging and established artists in the marketplace, including O'Neill Scott, Candace Tavares, Floyd Strickland, and Gregory Saint Amand.

There is significant connectivity in the work. Jean-Michel Basquiat is of Haitian descent. Gregory Saint Amand is also a Haitian artist. And in his work, you will see he talks about 1804 [the year Haiti declared independence from French colonial rule], which is very prevalent; it's always remembering the Haitian revolution [from 1791 to 1804] but also still paying homage to being a child.

But then you also have O'Neill Scott, who paints from a realistic perspective in finding the light within us. [His] man in the astronaut helmet [alludes] to the Tuskegee Airmen [the first African American military aviators in the United States Air Force] and their mission.

And I think when you look at the work of Candace Tavares and Mickalene Thomas, there's that connectivity of wood. Mickalene Thomas uses a range of mixed-media elements in her work. There's paint, there's probably paper, and there's probably fabric as well. And then in Candace Tavares' work, you see a lot of different exotic woods combined with glass.

I think, with Floyd Strickland and Julie Mehretu, it's also about how they incorporate paint from a textual perspective to a realist perspective. And that is what really brought Ron Valdez and me together to collaborate on this beautiful show.

W*: Can you expand on the show's exploration of what it means to exist in the present moment while carrying the histories, migrations, and inherited narratives of the Black diaspora into the future?

TW: Think about migration, for example, how slaves were brought up from Africa to America. We brought our stories with us as well. [But] our stories were still not being told. So I think at this point, you have these amazing artists that are really talking about those issues, whether it's identity or loss of memory, and bringing those things back and really focusing on the current issues at hand.

Look at Floyd Strickland's piece about Cain and Abel. One was the good son and the other was the bad son, but still, they were both humans. He weaves that into a discussion of the gang situation in LA, and I think for us it's about merging stories and making them current so people can better understand how we, as Black people, are living.

W*: What else should we know about the exhibition?

TW: I want to highlight the essence of collaboration. I think collaboration is very necessary, especially in the art market. [With the invitation from Ron Valdez to stage the exhibition at Hamilton-Selway Fine Art], I have an opportunity to showcase the artists that are represented by my [New York] gallery in Los Angeles. Collaborations help us share our story and message through partnerships and across different locations. That's what I'm really excited about for this particular show: highlighting the connectivity among our artists and working within gallery spaces.

In addition, we wanted to select an organisation we can support, as we are working within the Black Art diaspora. We chose American Friends of Jamaica because they are one of the many non-profits working to support the rebuilding of Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa, so this also has a philanthropic component.

‘Here Then and Now’ is on view at Hamilton-Selway Fine Art, Los Angeles, from 25 February to 15 March 2026, hamiltonselway.com