Europe’s largest retrospective of Kerry James Marshall has opened in London. The exhibition’s centerpiece, “School of Beauty, School of Culture,” transforms an everyday barbershop scene into a powerful symbol of African American art, identity, and culture.
A major exhibition, “Kerry James Marshall: Stories,” has opened at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, representing the largest survey of the renowned American artist’s work in Europe. Central to the display is the painting “School of Beauty, School of Culture” (2012), where a bustling barbershop scene reveals hidden allusions to art history, African American culture, and the question of identity.
Marshall, whose works are now among the most expensive by living African American artists, is known for turning ordinary scenes into symbolic paintings rich with allusions—from Raphael and Holbein to Lauryn Hill. All the figures in “School of Beauty” are depicted in a deep black color, which, according to curator Mark Godfrey, is “a challenge to the traditions of Western art and an affirmation of the presence of Black people in large-scale paintings.”
The exhibition will run until January 18, 2026.
