Now give me a short excerpt for " New Work in My Black Male Artist Professor Series — Portrait #21 of 25: Glenn Ligon (Completed as of March 30, 2026) ✨
A Symbolic Representation of Glenn Ligon | Casein, acrylic, paper, flag, metal, and | aluminum foil on a premium wooden panel | 36" x 48" | 2026
I’m excited to share that the portrait of Glenn Ligon is completed. @glennligon on Instagram
This portrait is painted on a 36” × 48” premium wooden panel and features a layered background of text and imagery that references the intellectual and historical influences shaping Ligon’s work. Central to this foundation are the writings of James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison, as well as historical moments like the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike.
I also incorporated references to moments of racial exclusion in higher education, including the experiences of Elizabeth Catlett, who was rejected from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon adversity) after initially being admitted, but was rejected because she was Black, and Marion Gerald Hood, who was denied entry to Emory University School of Medicine in 1959 because of his was Black. These sources help establish a conceptual stage reflecting the history, language, and cultural memory that frequently appear in Ligon’s work and in my research.
The color palette used for the background was inspired by Wesleyan University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)—institutions Ligon attended. Through this layered foundation, the background functions as both context and commentary, echoing Ligon’s use of language, repetition, and historical reference to explore identity and race in American life.
📌 About Glenn Ligon
Glenn Ligon (b. 1960, Bronx, NY) is a conceptual artist whose work explores race, language, identity, and history. Known for incorporating text from major literary figures and historical sources, his paintings, prints, and installations examine how words and history shape understanding of identity.
#GlennLigon #BlackMaleArtists #ArtSeries #contemporaryart