Tschabalala Self ‘By My Self’-With Henri Matisse-At Baltimore Museum Of Art

The most intriguing artistic dialogue taking place this summer occurs at the Baltimore Museum of Art where contemporary painter Tschabalala Self engages with Henri Matisse.

“By My Self” (through September 19) presents 13 paintings by Self, completed from 2016 to the present, alongside two related sculptures, highlighting the artist’s ongoing consideration of the iconographic significance of the Black female form in contemporary culture. Among the featured works are a new suite of three paintings of a female couple created in response to Henri Matisse’s sculpture Two Women (1907–08; originally titled Two Negresses) in the BMA’s collection.

The Baltimore Museum of Art has the largest collection of Matisse artworks in the world. As Self (born 1990, Harlem, NY) was going through the institution’s archives in preparation for her show, she took advantage by digging through their trove of Matisse. Two Women struck her.

“It stood out for two reasons. The sculpture itself was beautifully rendered, but also the titling,” Self told Forbes.com. “The title obviously spoke to the fact that the figures in the work depicted two Black women.”

Self, who’s made a major name for herself on the contemporary art stage with her large-scale, loose, bulbous imaginings of the Female figure was off and running.

“Whenever you’re doing an institutional show it presents a unique opportunity, and the potential challenge, of contending with the history of the institution–the art within the institution’s collection,” Self said. “Now you’re involved in this larger conversation about art history. I wanted to make the most of this opportunity. Matisse is an artist that I really identify with formally, his artwork is a part of the culture at large, and I feel like every artist has been inspired by Matisse because his work is so ubiquitous.”

Increasingly, a new generation of artists will take inspiration from Self with her work showing up in more and more museum collections. She found in her 20s what many artists never do, a unique language of mark making and subject matter instantly recognizable from across the room.

“I knew I found my style when I created something that I hadn’t seen before. I really think artists underestimate the importance of that,” Self said. “So many artists are susceptible to just mimicking work of people they admire and don’t understand how important it is for posterity to create something that is truly coming out of your own experimentation.”

Baltimore Museum of Art “2020 Vision” highlights female artists

The BMA made a huge splash in the art world when it announced late in 2019 that for 2020, it would acquire only works by female artists and every one its exhibitions would be female-focused. Fewer than 5% of the museum’s 95,000-piece permanent collection were created by women. As shocking as that statistic seems, it’s in line with the nation’s other premiere institutions.

Focusing on female artwork for a single year won’t correct that imbalance. The BMA doesn’t expect it to.

What does Self think is the best way for art museums to begin correcting their historical record of excluding female artists?

“They just have to start one work at a time,” she said. “Also, sharing with the museum’s audience that this is something they’re doing and stating this publicly. Publicly stating the goals of the institution holds them accountable, any transparency about such goals is equally important. Collecting and showing works by newly acquired artists is an important factor as well, oftentimes those things don’t always go hand in hand.”