Wadsworth Jarrell

Wadsworth Jarrell (b. 1929, Albany, GA) is a painter, photographer and founding member of AfriCOBRA, a Chicago-based collective of black artists who developed their own visual aesthetic in the art world to empower black communities. Wadsworth’s pattern-intensive portraits, combining vibrant colors and Black Power slogans, depict his drive for political activism. He documented the musical life that flourished in Chicago in the late 1960s-1970s and was a member of the Organization of Black American Culture that painted the “Rhythm and Blues” section of The Wall of Respect mural in the South Side of Chicago. Currently, he continues to experiment in his practice with past and present topics surrounding Blackness. Jarrell, along with his wife Jae and other founding members of AfriCOBRA, established a distinctive visual voice in 20th-century American art through Transnational Black Aesthetics.

His work Prophecy, painted in vibrant AfriCOBRA colors, depicts five black female figures with elongated proportions, inspired by a Howard University colleague. The central panel features figures holding guns and roosters, symbolizing resistance to apartheid and South Africa's liberation struggle, with references to Botswana and phrases like "At Any Price" and "JUJU." The recurring letter B signifies "Black is Beautiful," and figures hold sculptures of the Yoruba deity Shango, symbolizing power and resistance. The classic AfriCOBRA look, characterized by vibrant "Cool-Ade" [sic] colors, bold text, and positive images of Black people, laid the philosophical and aesthetic foundation for the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s. Originating from the South Side, this movement has had a global impact, influencing artists like Kerry James Marshall and Kehinde Wiley. Throughout his career, Jarrell has celebrated the struggles, strengths, and beauty of African Americans in his art.

Jarrell’s work is in many collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and The Studio Museum in Harlem, among many others. He was included in Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power organized by Tate Modern, which traveled to Crystal Bridges, the Brooklyn Museum, the Broad, the DeYoung, and the Museum of Fine Art Houston. Jarrell’s painting of Angela Davis was used as the key promotional visual for the exhibition worldwide. Other notable exhibitions include the AfricaCOBRA: Nation Time an official collateral event of the 58^th Venice Biennale, AfriCOBRA: Messages to the People at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, The Time Is Now! Art Worlds of Chicago’s South Side 1960-1980 at the Smart Museum of Art, Heritage: Wadsworth and Jae Jarrell at The Cleveland Museum of Art, and The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now at MCA Chicago, ICA Philadelphia, and The Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2020, Wadsworth debuted his book AFRICOBRA: Experimental Art Towards a School of Thought and was interviewed with Jae Jarrell by Hans Ulrich Obrist as part of Obrist’s Interview Project. A dedicated educator, Jarrell attended the Art Institute of Chicago and earned his MFA from Howard University, where he later taught painting, in addition to his tenure at the University of Georgia. In 2024, Jarrell's work is showcased in a group exhibition Edges of Ailey, at The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Culture from Which I Sprang at Jenkins Johnson Gallery.  Looking ahead, Jarrell is slated for a major exhibition at the Albany Museum of Art in Georgia in 2026.