The Viewing Room: Tschabalala Self
Image Source: Tschabalala Self | Instagram
You will never forget stepping into Gagosian London this spring and feeling the walls pulse with life, Amoako Boafo’s curatorial vision framed stories of community, while just down the continent, Toyin Ojih Odutola’s rich linework whispered ancestral narratives. 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal moment for Black contemporary painters: gallery weeks, museum openings, and solo presentations are converging in New York, London, Berlin, and beyond. Whether you’re an avid collector, a gallery-goer, or simply hungry for fresh artistic voices, you’ll leave each show with your perspective expanded and your soul stirred. In the sections below, you’ll find 5 artists whose practices span portraiture, abstraction, figuration, and beyond plus direct links to their portfolios or Instagram feeds, so you can check them out. Ready to discover your next favorite painter? Let’s go.
1. Amoako Boafo:
Location: Vienna / London / Accra
Artistic Focus: Portraits celebrating Black identity, often using oil and paper transfers.
Recent Highlight: Opened July 3, 2025 – It’s in the Little Things, a group exhibition conceived by Boafo at Gagosian Burlington Arcade, London, featuring works by his Accra peers and himself.
Why to Watch: Boafo’s approach of embedding portraiture within immersive installations challenges stereotypes and invites communal dialogue.
Portfolio Link: amoakoboafo.com

Sitting on the Sun by Amoako Boafo is shown at the Colección Solo museum in Madrid (Spain).
Source: Wikipedia
2. Toyin Ojih Odutola:
Location: New York, NY
Artistic Focus: Intricate multimedia drawings and works on paper exploring heritage and memory.
Recent Highlight: Ilé Oriaku at Jack Shainman Gallery, New York (May 6–July 18, 2025) jackshainman.com.
Why to Watch: Ojih Odutola’s seven solo shows with Jack Shainman have redefined contemporary drawing, blending pen, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic into narrative tapestries.
Portfolio Link: https://toyinojihodutola.com/

Lonely Chambers (T.O.), 2011, pen ink and marker drawing on paper, by Toyin Ojih Odutola (Image courtesy of the artist, Jack Shainman Gallery, Adam Green Art Advisory, and the Green Family Art Foundation.)
Source: Wikipedia
3. Lynette Yiadom‑Boakye:
Location: London, UK
Artistic Focus: Figurative oil paintings of invented Black subjects imbued with timeless stillness.
Recent Highlight: To Improvise A Mountain: Lynette Yiadom‑Boakye Curates (May 16–Oct 5, 2025) at Leeds Art Gallery.
Why to Watch: As both painter and writer, Yiadom‑Boakye’s enigmatic canvases evoke poetic rhythms, inviting viewers to dwell in possibility.
Portfolio Link: https://www.instagram.com/lynetteyiadomboakye/?hl=en

Skylark (2010) by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye at the National Gallery of Art‘s showing of Afro-Atlantic Histories in Washington, DC in 2022.
Source: Wikipedia
4. Tschabalala Self:
Location: Jing’an District, Shanghai
Artistic Focus: Sewn, printed, and painted materials combining figuration and abstraction.
Recent Highlight: The Illusion of the Self at Longlati Foundation, Milano (Mar 20–July 19, 2025).
Why to Watch: Self’s syncretic practice collapses craft and fine art, constructing powerful meditations on identity and selfhood.
Portfolio Link: pilarcorrias.com.

Two Girls (2019) at the Rubell Museum DC in 2022. Source: Wikipedia
5. Michael Armitage:
Location: Nairobi / London / NYC
Artistic Focus: Vibrant oil paintings on Ugandan Lubugo bark cloth tackling migration, memory, and ritual.
Recent Highlight: Curates KUB Project at Kunsthaus Bregenz (July 11–Sept 28, 2025), spotlighting works by himself, Maria Lassnig, and more.
Why to Watch: Armitage’s use of funerary cloth as canvas lends his imagery an uncanny blend of beauty and rupture.
Portfolio Link: kunsthaus-bregenz.at.

Amongst the Living, 2022.
Source: https://www.whitecube.com/artists/michael-armitage
2025 is bursting with opportunities to witness Black contemporary painters pushing boundaries in form, content, and context. Be sure to mark your calendars for openings, gallery talks, and studio visits, and don’t forget to follow their studios and social feeds for behind-the-scenes glimpses. If there’s an artist we’ve missed, drop their name in the comments below. Let’s keep the conversation and the inspiration flowing all summer long.

Anand Subramanian is a freelance photographer and content writer based out of Tamil Nadu, India. Having a background in Engineering always made him curious about life on the other side of the spectrum. He leapt forward towards the Photography life and never looked back. Specializing in Documentary and Portrait photography gave him an up-close and personal view into the complexities of human beings and those experiences helped him branch out from visual to words. Today he is mentoring passionate photographers and writing about the different dimensions of the art world.