Kerry James Marshall Retrospective "Mastry" at Met Bruer-Blew Me Away

Kerry James Marshall (KJM) is a black, American painter whose retrospective "Mastry" recently opened at the Met Breuer.  Did I need to point out the masterful painter is black?  No, but KJM, a classically trained painter, makes the black American experience a major point of his storytelling.  All KJM's figures are black.  Marshall doesn't mince metaphors.   The intent to solely paint black figures is to fill the void in art history. "If I didn't do it, how else were they going to be seen?…I had to do it."  I have to admit, I have never seen an exhibit to this extent or caliber that exmplefies black figures in history & daily living.  It's been too long over due.   KJM's skill & artistry knocked me out and blew me away.   There's a plethora of inferences be drawn from his complex compositions & storytelling.  KJM steers figurative paintings towards the forefront in a epoch veered towards contemporary abstraction.  The contents of his paintings contain social & historical commentary as well as literary & artistic references.  To encapsulate everything that resonated for me is futile.  I'll call attention to several large scale outdoor paintings on the upper floor:  "Past Times" and "Better Homes and Gardens."  There's  much to absorb & digest within each of his paintings.  In "Past Times" there is a sardonic messaging of exclusion from these elite, leisurely activities such as golf (the figure is facing away) and croquette (a young girl dressed all in white blatantly starring at the viewer in defiance.)  The painting's irony  compares & contrast with Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon…"   "Better Homes and Gardens" unfurls urban decay & disintegration.  Graffitti and paint blotches appear as rubbish overtaking the landscape.  There are numerous ties to literary giants.  In Ellison's "Invisible Man," the black painting makes the figure all but disappear into the background except for his eyes which glow & appear to follow you.  In many of the works, the eyes portray the same powerful stare as in Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa."  The eyes honed in on me from all angles.  The two portraits "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein," alluding to Shelly's novel were transfixing.  They confront the responsiblity of having created the monstrosity of slavery.  Now, how do we as a nation respond to what we've reared?  This masterful exhibition of KJM's works resonated profoundly with me.  I felt the echo of Shelly's words in the majority of his work:  "Beware, for I am fearless, and therefore powerful."  "If I cannot inspire love,  I will cause fear."