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Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava (*- unless credited otherwise).

Show seen: Kerry James Marshall: EXQUISITE CORPSE This Is Not The Game @ Jack Shainman.

Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, 2016-7, his mid-career retrospective that came to The Met Breuer, was the Painting show of the decade on a number of levels among those I saw. Apparently, others agreed. In 2018, Mr. Marshall was named the 2nd most influential person in the Art world, behind gallerist David Zwirner¹. That makes him, supposedly, the #1 most influential Artist in the world (for whatever that’s worth), according to Art Review Magazine .

Installation view of the now legendary Kerry James Marshall: Mastry on the 4th day it was open at the sadly lost Met Breuer, October 28, 2016.

Then, all that attention turned to wonder. As in: What is he going to do next?

In late 2022, Mr. Marshall returned with the first new post-Mastry NYC solo show. Kerry James Marshall: EXQUISITE CORPSE This Is Not The Game at Jack Shainman not only doesn’t disappoint, it stuns…surprises…and is full of mystery. It consists of a body of work that I imagine none of his new, or long-standing, admirers saw coming. No small feat given all that has come before, as was evidenced over two full floors of Mastry at The Met Breuer. Such is its uniqueness, I made multiple trips to see it. Still, it held on to its secrets, and the Artist has said nothing I’ve seen about these pieces that would help in deciphering them.  

A number of Mr. Marshall’s Paintings have long had a “collage” feel to them, like The Lost Boys, 1993, Acrylic and collage on canvas, an homage to young victims of gun & urban violence, seen to the left in the Mastry installation shot up top, which actually uses collage. The same feeling comes across in EXQUISITE CORPSES. Untitled (Exquisite Corpse Liberty) , 2022 ink, graphite and watercolor on paper, 26 x 20 inches, signed in 3 ways, seen here.

Mastry featured the Artist’s extensive knowledge of Art history- an entire gallery at The Met Breuer was turned over to a selection of Art from The Met’s Permanent Collection curated by Mr. Marshall. A dream opportunity for any Artist or visitor.

Installation view of the Mastry Met Breuer gallery devoted to Kerry James Marshall’s selection of work from The Met’s Permanent Collection. Seen on November 12, 2016.

HIs choices were both expected (Charles White, Romare Bearden), and not (Paolo Veronese, Ingres, Paul Cadmus, George Tooker and Ad Reinhardt). They revealed a stunning breadth. 

It tuns out that EXQUISITE CORPSE mines Art history even deeper.

Untitled (Exquisite Corpse Lightbulb Cross), 2021, Acrylic on PVC Panel, 84 x 60 inches.

As we celebrate 100 years of Surrealism², Mr. Marshall has fixed on a little-known aspect of their output- the Exquisite Corpse. The Art Institute of Chicago, which holds some examples, explains it–

“The so-called cadavre exquis or exquisite corpse, a Surrealist visual game, was created in winter 1925–26, when members of the group gathered in the evenings. If conversation lagged, they invented games to spark the unconscious. The exquisite corpse grew out of one such invention, which reimagined the children’s game of “head, body, legs,” in which each participant adds to a drawing without seeing the preceding contributions, which are hidden by folding the paper. The results are strange, sometimes violent, combinations of images.”

Exquisite Corpse, 1928, by Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy & Max Morise (*- Art Institute of Chicago photo).

Coincidentally, or not, Mr. Marshall has long lived and worked in Chicago. 

Installation view.

Crucially, his show, EXQUISITE CORPSE, is subtitled “This is Not The Game,” separating his work from the rules of the Surrealist’s game. Selectively, it seems.

Untitled (Exquisite Corpse Afro Wig), 2022, Ink and watercolor on paper, 30 1/4 x 22 3/8 inches.

The show is made up of smaller pieces done in Ink and watercolor on paper, and larger Acrylic on PVC panel Paintings. Each piece consists of 3 or 4 stacked horizontal sections, one part somehow becoming the jumping off point for the next one up, and so on. I haven’t been able to find anything else out about these pieces beyond what looking reveals³. Nothing is revealed in the press release. For example, it remains unknown whether Mr. Marshall covered finished parts of the work, as the Surrealists did, or not as he worked on the next section. This much is known, unlike his predecessors, Mr. Marshall’s work has only one author- him, though he signs each piece in variations of his name as if to make it look like multiple authors were involved (i.e. “Kerry James Marshall,” “KJM,” Marshall, Kerry J,” and/or “Kerry Marshall,” depending on whether the piece has 3 or 4 sections). Each of the smaller ink and watercolor on paper pieces contain 3 or 4 signatures, depending on how many horizontal sections the work has, in keeping with the original Surrealist Exquisite Corpse protocol. Perhaps this indicates multiple sides of the Artist at work. The larger Acrylic on panel Paintings are not signed on the front that I could see.

Untitled (Exquisite Corpse Rollerblades), 2022 acrylic on PVC panel, 78 x 120 x 2 inches. Tour de force examples of his Drawing can be found in every piece on view. Here, in one of the larger pieces, I think I would have lost my mind trying to do the crosshatching on her lower body, which he’s executed flawlessly in the only piece consisting of vertical sections.

Throughout, his Drawing that stands out here, for me. Perhaps, the most overlooked segment of his work, it’s been previously seen to stunning effect in his epic “comic book,” Rythm Mastr, 1999-date, which has only been seen in pieces thus far. Here, Drawing is one part of the mix of styles he synthesizes in each piece.

Untitled (Exquisite Corpse Oh No), 2022 ink and watercolor on paper 30 1/8 x 22 1/4 inches.

The freedom he brings to bear in these pieces is always startling. As for the content, it’s up to each viewer to decipher these complex pieces for him or herself. The clues to work with include a virtual encyclopedia of motifs from Mr. Marshall’s oeuvre, juxtaposed in extremely imaginative ways. Perhaps the bigger “point” is that even after Mastry, Kerry James Marshall, in mid-career, is nowhere near done surprising, creating stunning work, and continuing on his mission to further the cause of Black identity and representation in Art. 

Untitled (Exquisite Corpse Bling Bling), 2022 ink and watercolor on paper 30 1/8 x 22 3/8 inches.

EXQUISITE CORPSE  This is Not The Game arrived without much fanfare. Perhaps that’s to be expected of an Artist who has been focused on his work for the past four decades. Over that time he, somewhat quietly, has built one of the most compelling bodies of work of his time. In the end, EXQUISITE CORPSE  This is Not The Game shows Kerry James Marshall hard at work being Kerry James Marshall, no matter how he signs it, and keeping on keeping on.

Installation view.

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