Raymond Saunders: Post No Bills

Discover the visual dynamism of Raymond Saunders's paintings and his multifaceted legacy as artist and thinker in this seminal monograph. Saunders's work brings together the artist's extensive formal training with his own observations and lived experience. His assemblage-style paintings frequently begin with a monochromatic black ground elaborated with white chalk-a pointed reversal of the traditional figure-ground relationship. He subsequently adds a range of other markings, materials, and talismans. Expressionistic swaths of paint, minimalist motifs, line drawings, and passages of vibrant color tangle with found objects, signs, and doors collected from his urban environment, creating unexpected visual rhymes and resonances that reward careful and sustained looking. At once deliberately constructed and improvisatory, didactic and deeply felt, these richly built surfaces conjure a range of themes, allowing for a vast and nuanced multiplicity of meanings. This exhibition takes its title from Saunders's painting Post No Bills (1968), a refrain that questions the systems that control visibility and freedom to disseminate information both in public spaces and the art world. The catalogue features full-color details and installation views from the exhibition. A record of joint exhibitions by David Zwirner and Andrew Kreps gallery in 2024, this catalogue considers Saunders's ability to infuse his work with social relevance and commentary. Featured texts include an introduction by curator Ebony L. Haynes; a conversation between Haynes and Studio Museum of Harlem director Thelma Golden about her multidecade engagement with Saunders's artwork and writing; and a facsimile reproduction of Saunders's legendary pamphlet Black Is a Color, along with annotated commentary by art historian Darby English. An essay by Jarrett Earnest provides an in-depth formal, art historical interpretation of two of Saunders's chalkboard works. Additionally included is a never before published interview from 1980 between the artist and Judith Wilson in which Saunders discusses his multilayered practice, and a reprint of a pivotal text from 1993 by art historian Richard J. Powell that offers a panoramic examination of Saunders's art from 1968-1993. This robust group of texts and academic considerations offers a compelling exploration of Saunders's multifaceted practice and lasting influence.