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Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter and Civil Rights Luminary, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, a painter, educator, and Civil Rights activist, died on May 10 at age 84 in Mérida, Mexico. Known for her monumental canvases and inventive “lampblack” works, she moved fluidly between abstraction and figuration, using layers of black pigment to assert Blackness and presence. Her career included studies at Howard University and Columbia University, activism with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and connections to the Black Arts Movement.

Art for fall 2025: From the Art Institute to the Architecture Biennial, 10 exhibits for all kinds of realities

A Chicago-based art critic presents a curated guide to 10 exhibitions for fall 2025, ranging from a major traveling survey of activist artist Elizabeth Catlett at the Art Institute of Chicago to a textiles show exploring mourning and survival, a Helen Frankenthaler printmaking exhibit at the Block Museum, and the final programming at the Roman Susan Art Foundation in Rogers Park. Other highlights include a collaborative museum debut by artists Mayumi Lake and Bob Faust inspired by the Japanese design principle shakkei.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, painter and activist, 1942–2026

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, the American painter, professor, and civil rights activist, has died at age 84. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, she was a co-founder of the Non-Violent Action Group while a student at Howard University, later earning an MFA from Columbia University. Known for monumental abstract works on soot-black surfaces, she developed her signature technique through the Lampblack series (1960s–70s) and continued evolving her practice through series such as Whales Fucking (1970s–80s) and Panthers In My Father’s Palace (1980s–90s). In 1985, she became the first African American woman to receive tenure in the Department of Art Practice at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for nearly three decades and served as chair from 1999 until her retirement in 2006.

Top Art Exhibits at Chicago Museums | 2025 Guide

Chicago museums are presenting a diverse slate of fall 2025 exhibitions, including a major Yoko Ono retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art's 39th annual Día de Muertos exhibit, a landmark Elizabeth Catlett retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago, a Marvel's Spider-Man interactive show at the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry, and Italian artist Diego Marcon's U.S. debut at The Renaissance Society.

DISPOSITIONS IN THE AMERICAS CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE COLONIAL LEGACY

A major exhibition titled 'Dispossessions in the Americas: The Extraction of Bodies, Land, and Heritage from La Conquista to the Present' opens at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago. It features over 40 works by 36 contemporary artists from Latin America, curated by Jonathan D. Katz and Eduardo Carrera, examining the ongoing legacies of colonialism through themes of territory, body, and cultural heritage.

New Exhibition by Activist Artist Shines Human Light on Homeless

Zhenya Gershman, a Moscow-born, bi-coastal painter based in New York and Los Angeles, is opening a new exhibition titled "ICU2" on May 10, the second part of her "I See You" project addressing homelessness. Gershman, who began her career at age 14 in St. Petersburg and now runs Zhenya's Art Academy, draws inspiration from subway encounters, approaching strangers to photograph them and transforming candid, imperfect shots into oil-on-canvas portraits. The exhibition follows her previous activist projects, including a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a painting of a Ukrainian war victim that sold for $100,000 to benefit the Ukraine Red Cross.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Whose Paintings Were Saturated in Black, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an artist and activist known for her monumental canvases saturated in the darkest pigments she could find, has died at age 84. Her work, deeply informed by her identity as a Black woman and her involvement in the civil rights movement, gained prominence for its bold abstraction and political resonance.

Yolo County art studio rooted in Chicano legacy gives voice to community

Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer (TANA), a community art studio in Woodland, California, is celebrating its 16-year legacy as a hub for Chicano printmaking and muralism. Founded as a partnership between UC Davis and the Yolo County Housing Authority, the studio provides free materials and workshops to local residents and students. The space was co-founded by activist artist Malaquias Montoya, a key figure in the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) collective, to bring professional-grade screen printing out of academia and into the community.