Faith Ringgold, who innovated with the mediums of painting, sculpture, quilts, and books to spread stories of the African American experience across an expansive career over five decades, has passed away at the age of 93 in her home in Englewood, New Jersey.
According to long-time representatives of her work, the ACA Galleries, which first worked with Ringgold back in 1995, the artist's death took place last Saturday, April 13.
"Faith leaves behind an impactful legacy of activism and advocacy for diversity and inclusion that has left a lasting mark on the art world, inspiring countless others to use their voice as a tool for social change," said Dorian Bergen, President of ACA Galleries, in a statement.
The Expansive Tapestry of Faith Ringgold's Career
Ringgold is perhaps most known for her elaborately painted story quilts that chronicle Black life and history in multi-arranged panels, blending both imagery and text. One such work is her famed 1983 piece: "Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima?"
This particular artwork reimagines a historically reductive stereotype against those of African descent as a hero championing feminist principles.
Similarly, her 1990 piece: "Tar Beach 2," is another Black culture-injected artwork, however, it specifically conjures Ringgold's own experiences living and growing up in Harlem, while also blending a touch of fantasy into the piece.
In an interview with Wallpaper Magazine, Ringgold said: "Throughout my professional life I felt free to do whatever I wanted to do-and use whatever material was suitable for my vision," expressing that she felt "no limitation" in doing so.
Crossing over to other disciplines like painting, sculpture, and even performance art by the 1960s up until the '70s, Ringgold's narrative quilt work seeped through and saw the artist blossom into one of the leading individuals of the Black Arts movement.
Thus, her practice of the arts was done hand-in-hand with activism. In 1970 she even co-founded the Women Students and Artists for Black Art Liberation (WSABAL) collective together with her daughter: Michele Wallace.
A year later, she also helped establish "Where We At" in support of Black women in art.
At the turn of the next two decades, in the 1990s, Ringgold dipped into the realm of children's books and wrote over 10 titles. For one, she made "Tar Beach," a 1991 work that bagged the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration.
She also published her own memoir: "We Flew Over the Bridge" in 1995, where she described the simple joys she had gone through during her formative years in Harlem alongside the struggles of an artist who is also simultaneously raising a family.
In an Instagram post honoring the artist, ACA Galleries quoted Ringgold saying: "Anyone can fly. All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars."
The gallery also announced that they are opening her exhibition "Anyone Can Fly" this coming May. More information will be posted on the gallery's website.
