The Scholars, 2025
Emmanuel Chidube
Wunika Mukan Gallery
Nkalubo, 2025
Wasswa Donald Augustine
Circle Art Gallery
Black-owned galleries are vital cultural anchors. Artist-run project spaces offer platforms for some of today’s most exciting artists, while seasoned tastemakers ensure the legacies of their rostered talents. All bridge the gap between collectors and artists.
At Black-Owned Galleries Now, Artsy’s online showcase of Black gallerists and the artists they champion, you’ll find art that riffs on ancient motifs and conceives of futuristic narratives. Black artists across the globe are using painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed -media to find new modes of expression.
In celebration of Black History Month, Artsy’s content team has selected standout pieces—all priced under $5,000—that offer something personal. Whether you are looking to support Black-owned businesses this month or just beginning your collecting journey, this is the perfect place to start.
Bade Fuwa, You Never Really Learn, 2023
Presented by Forme Femine
You Never Really Learn, 2023
Bade Fuwa
Forme Femine
Amid the chaos of screens and digital devices, I’ve been searching for art that cultivates a sense of calm. I was immediately drawn to this black-and-white photograph by Bade Fuwa, on view as part of Forme Femine’s Black-Owned Galleries Now presentation.
The power of this image lies in the embrace. Here, two subjects mirror one another in their shared body language and dress. The absence of color amplifies the scene, while the hidden face of the second subject adds a layer of intrigue. There is something deeply soothing about this interaction against the gentle ripples of the waves. The figures could represent two parts of the same person—a tender ode to self-love.
Fuwa’s depiction of softness really resonates with me, especially as it relates to Black femininity. The photograph radiates a sense of safety that would transform any home.
—Adeola Gay, senior curatorial manager, London
Patrick Alston, Studio Notes #13, 2025
Presented by Jenkins Johnson Gallery
Studio Notes #13, 2025
Patrick Alston
Jenkins Johnson Gallery
It’s not every day that you find the perfect piece for a small apartment, which is why I was so excited to discover this work on paper by rising artist Patrick Alston.
On the surface, Alston’s colorful abstractions are playful and energetic. Explosions of color and dizzying, gestural brushstrokes define his compositions. The artist takes inspiration from the South Bronx in New York City, where he grew up, offering thoughtful explorations of identity and belonging.
While Alston typically works with found fabrics, including terry cloth and painter’s rags, he channels the same energy into this smaller-scale work; he applies thick layers of bright paint to create a vibrant, textured “studio note.” This artwork is a rare find, and it’s at the top of my wish list this Black History Month.
—Adeola Gay, senior curatorial manager, London
Juwon Aderemi, Idea 03, 2025
Presented by Ross-Sutton Gallery
Idea 03, 2025
Juwon Aderemi
Ross-Sutton Gallery
This showcase is filled with exciting portraits, and Juwon Aderemi’s Idea 03 (2025) is my favorite. The young Nigerian artist often paints surrealistic portraits that draw on Yoruba culture and West African folklore—and you can see his flair for storytelling here. His single figure encourages you to dream up the world around him, just outside the frame.
The work manages to feel subtle, guarded, and electric at the same time. I can’t help but lock eyes with the subject. Aderemi pairs that piercing stare with lush, carefully rendered details: soft brushstrokes, velvety textures, and that crisp contrast between the warm terra-cotta background and the deep blue patterned shirt. I especially love the perfect bucket hat, trimmed in the same blue fabric—a small detail that makes the whole scene feel even more intentional. Given Aderemi’s ties to Yoruba traditions, the blue pattern reads not just as a style choice, but as a possible nod to adire, traditional indigo-dyed cloth.
I always end up back at the gaze—calm, contemplative, with a hint of concern. It’s a painting I could get lost in every day.
—Casey Lesser, senior director of content, New York
Wasswa Donald Augustine, Atwooki, 2025
Presented by Circle Art Gallery
Atwooki, 2025
Wasswa Donald Augustine
Circle Art Gallery
I’m thinking a lot about the future these days: trying to imagine that, despite everything going on in the world right now, something good and unexpected is around the corner. This work by Donald Wasswa Augustine offers that sense of joyful anticipation.
The wooden sculpture is one of a series of small, biomorphic works that each have their own human name (Atwooki is a Ugandan “praise name” given to tough but kind leaders). The sculpture appears to have a body, made of beautifully grained Albizia wood, balanced on spindly ebony legs. Expressionless but undeniably cute, the miniature critter is strange and individual. Wasswa Augustine, who has exhibited at galleries across Africa, is explicitly interested in the future of our species and how technology might impact the way we survive. According to the gallery, these sculptures show the artist “taking the process of evolution into his own hands.” It’s this imagination that gives me hope.
—Josie Thaddeus-Johns, lead editor, Berlin
DAMOLA ADEPOJU, Log Drivers at Dawn, 2025
Presented by Art Lab Gallery AE
Log Drivers at Dawn, 2025
DAMOLA ADEPOJU
Art Lab Gallery AE
I love this pint-sized mixed-media piece by Nigerian artist DAMOLA ADEPOJU; it feels quiet and strangely serene despite the dangerous profession it depicts. Log driving is hard. It involves floating on logs in fast-moving water, often for up to 16 hours at a time (check out the classic Canadian folk song “The Log Driver’s Waltz” for a flavor).
Here, at the crack of dawn, the warm, golden water and a small group of laborers appear calm. It’s the sort of artwork I’d like to wake up to: a peaceful reminder to start the day with a steady, everyday kind of courage.
—Arun Kakar, senior art market editor, London
Emmanuel Chidube, Senior Girls (The Three Graces), 2025
Presented by Wunika Mukan Gallery
Senior Girls (The Three Graces), 2025
Emmanuel Chidube
Wunika Mukan Gallery
The glowing pink auras, jaunty poses, and preppy socks drew me to The Three Graces (2025). Emmanuel Chidube’s painting captures the contours of girlhood in a few brushstrokes. The three students stare down the viewers, and we look back, aware that they know everything and nothing at the same time.
The title invokes Greek mythology—the three graces (or charities) are sisters, daughters of Zeus, who represent splendor, mirth, and good cheer. In this casting, Chidube elevates Black joy and girlhood to legendary status. At a time when Blackness and Black bodies are constantly scrutinized and threatened, anointing this trio as symbols of happiness and celebration brings a bit of light into our present moment.
—Sydney Gelman, Copywriter, New York
Browse more artworks from Black-Owned Galleries Now in our collections featuring our curators’ favorites and works under $1,000.
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