Cover image: Elliott Barnes and Something Special by Alvin Armstrong
© Entrée to Black Paris

The first time I met Elliott Barnes was in October 2013, when he was exhibiting at the Architectural Digest Intérieurs Métamorphose show in Paris. 

Among the items displayed in the room he designed for that show were five exquisite portraits of men in his family, all created by Kenturah Davis.

Almost 10 years later, I was delighted to meet with Barnes to brainstorm possible venues for an exhibition of portraits of the Barnes clan.  He shared that he had been commissioning works that depict his family for years and explained his vision of the show.

Portrait of an American Family - A Selection from the Barnes Contemporary is the culmination of this vision.

The Septieme Gallery in Paris' 7th arrondissement is hosting this show, which features works by eight Afro-descendant artists. 

Septième Gallery signage
© Entrée to Black Paris

The opening was held on April 29, 2025.  It was well attended.

Septième Gallery vernissage - in front of the gallery
© Entrée to Black Paris

Septième Gallery vernissage - inside the gallery
© Entrée to Black Paris

Elliott Barnes at Septième Gallery vernissage
© Entrée to Black Paris

The Kenturah Davis portraits are prominently featured in this exhibition.

Portrait of Elliott Barnes
Kenturah Davis
2012 Pencil on paper
Photo © Entrée to Black Paris

Portrait of Ellington Barnes - Elliott Barnes' son
Kenturah Davis
2012 Pencil on paper
Photo © Entrée to Black Paris

The other artists whose work is displayed are Edgar Arceneaux, Alvin Armstrong, Nicolas Lambelet Colman, Noah Davis, Wangari Mathenge, Yoyo Langer, and Ngozi Schommers.

Solo portraits of the Barnes family patriarch and matriarch, Dr. Richard Barnes and Glynell S. Barnes, were created by Yoyo Lander, Wangare Mathenge, and Alvin Armstrong.

Someone to Celebrate
Yoyo Lander
2020 Watercolor on watercolor paper cutouts
Photo © Entrée to Black Paris

Glynell S. Barnes
Wangare Mathenge
2020 Oil on canvas
Photo © Entrée to Black Paris

In excerpts from its press release about Portrait of an American Family, Septième Gallery presents the significance of this exhibition:

"By commissioning portraits of his family, Elliott Barnes composes an intimate atlas, crossed by this current. It is a founding gesture: one of chosen transmission.  The act of commissioning—historically reserved for the elite—becomes here an act of repair. Family representation is no longer confined to official memory: it reinvents itself as a river of personal narratives.

"This collection of portraits reflects a free choice: to recompose one’s family according to one’s own bonds. Elliott Barnes selects the faces, embraces their complexities, and reclaims the right to narrate them. It is not simply a tribute—it is a living construction, like a river that welcomes even as it lets go."

The online catalog provides a more extensive view of the collection.  In the catalog, Barnes comments as follows:

"The collection honors my family’s heritage and legacy, while also aiming to foster dialogue and disrupt convention. It seeks to break the historical exclusion of Black individuals from the world of portraiture and the history of art—affirming that their stories, experiences, and contributions are equally deserving of representation and visibility in the West."

Portrait of an American Family - A Selection from the Barnes Contemporary will be on display through May 13, 2025.

Click HERE to see more of the Barnes Contemporary collection.

SEPTIEME Paris
31, rue de l’Université
75007 Paris
Metro: Rue du Bac (Line 12)
Opening hours:  Tuesday - Friday 10 AM - 7 PM; Saturday 2 PM - 7 PM