THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Siddhartha Mitter
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“Pall Bearers,” 2020, was inspired by the ornate funeral of George Floyd in Houston. Derek Fordjour and Petzel
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Mr. Fordjour often depicts Black athletes and performers — dancers, riders, rowers, drum-majors — as strivers who navigate the ambiguities that come with their achievement, and the racial scrutiny that accompanies visibility in the mainstream culture. At 46, by art-world metrics, Mr. Fordjour is already registering. He was a market sensation in 2019 with a noteworthy sale at Phillips, where “Agency and Regulation (study)” went for $137,500, double its estimate. At the Frieze art fair he sold a suite of 10 paintings to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
This year brought his first full-fledged museum show, at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. [
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"Self Must Die" Through Dec. 19 at Petzel Gallery, 456 West 18th Street, Manhattan; 212- 680-9467, petzel.com. A puppet show, “Fly Away,” is performed twice daily.  |
Derek Fordjour outside his studio in an industrial building in the Bronx, where the artist was preparing for a solo show at Petzel Gallery. Rafael Rios for The New York Times
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