New Kadir Nelson Exhibition Launches at Norman Rockwell Museum

IN OUR LIFETIME: PAINTINGS FROM THE PANDEMIC BY KADIR NELSON
Opens in tandem with Imprinted: Illustrating Race on June 11

STOCKBRIDGE, MA— Norman Rockwell Museum (NRM) is pleased to debut In Our Lifetime: Paintings from the Pandemic by Kadir Nelson featuring twelve recent paintings by the award-winning illustrator and author. Conceptualized and created during the COVID-19 pandemic, these works capture Nelson’s reflections on today’s national and world events. Additional paintings by the artist are included in the concurrent exhibition Imprinted: Illustrating Race; both exhibitions will be on view June 11 – October 31.

“This body of work, In Our Lifetime, serves as an artistic and historical document of the human drama we collectively lived through during the pandemic; and I’m very honored to share the walls of the Norman Rockwell Museum with one of my favorite artists and inspirations, Norman Rockwell,” Nelson said.

On view together for the first time, Kadir Nelson’s large-scale works depict such wide-ranging themes as childhood and the hope for a positive future, the need for interpersonal connectivity, the contributions of trailblazers, the importance of raising one’s voice, and the racial injustices that continue to plague society. Six commissioned illustrations for covers of The New Yorker will be on view, including the widely disseminated depiction of George Floyd, titled Say Their Names. An exhibition video featuring personal interviews with Kadir Nelson will be available in the galleries and online.

“Kadir Nelson is among today’s most important illustrators, capturing the current cultural moment in some of the most iconic images of our time. We have long desired to exhibit his work and are honored to be the first museum to present In Our Lifetime,” noted Laurie Norton Moffatt, NRM Director/CEO.

Two commemorative paintings will be on view — Tulsa, Nelson’s 100th Anniversary remembrance of the 1920 Tulsa Massacre in the historical Greenbelt “Black Wall Street” district in Oklahoma and Centennial, the 100th anniversary tribute to the founding of Negro League Baseball in America. “In Our Lifetime: Paintings from the Pandemic by Kadir Nelson is a powerful suite of unflinching paintings illustrating challenging realities and histories, as well as resilience through these last two years,” said Deputy Director/Chief Curator Stephanie Haboush Plunkett.

The exhibition was organized by KADIR NELSON, INC | THE JKBN GROUP and Dr. Jungmiwha Bullock, Social/Political Scientist and General Partner of THE JKBN GROUP. “Both illustrators [Rockwell and Nelson] capture the soul of our collective stories and the dignity of the subject matter, each in their distinctive and masterful ways, and despite how heavy the content may sometimes be. We hope In Our Lifetime continues to open up a much-needed public dialogue that our world so desperately needs to have together at this time,” expressed Dr. Bullock.

Related Programs

Saturday, July 23, 2022
11 a.m. Visitors of all ages are invited to meet Kadir Nelson for a special book signing event and view the exhibition. Advance reservations required. Details at NRM.org/events

About Kadir Nelson

Kadir Nelson (b. 1974) is an award-winning American artist and author based in Los Angeles, California. Nelson’s immersive paintings focus on historical and contemporary narratives in American culture. A graduate of Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, New York, Nelson grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey and San Diego, California.

In addition to his cover illustrations for The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, and National Geographic, among others, Nelson has illustrated over thirty picture books, and was winner of the prestigious Caldecott Award in 2020 for The Undefeated written by Kwame Alexander; We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, a New York Times Best-Seller; and Henry’s Freedom Box, which received a Caldecott Honor Award. He worked as a concept artist for DreamWorks Pictures on Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated film, Amistad, and has designed album covers for Michael Jackson and Drake, as well as more than a dozen United States postage stamps honoring American legends Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Wilt Chamberlain, Marvin Gaye, and others.

Nelson’s original paintings reside in the permanent collections of several notable institutions including the United States House of Representatives; Muskegon Museum of Art; The National Baseball Hall of Fame; The United States Postal Museum, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution; and the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Images, videos, and interviews available by request.

NRM PRESS CONTACTS:
Katrina Weber Ashour
kweberashour@fitzandco.com
917-601-8618
Margit Hotchkiss
presscontact@nrm.org | 413-931-2240

KADIR NELSON PRESS CONTACT:
For general media inquiries for the Artist
and THE JKBN GROUP
info@kadirnelson.com
888-310-3222
www.kadirnelson.com