Arthur
Jafa

Deeply involved in art theory research, Arthur Jafa seeks to define what could be a “Black aesthetic” that would express African-American cultural identity and “Blackness”. He is interested in music, but mainly expresses himself through visual arts, especially video.

Jafa studied architecture in Washington, D.C. before quickly becoming interested in images and his identity as an African-American artist. Recognised in the early 1990s, he worked with great directors such as Stanley Kubrick and Spike Lee. In the 2000s he co-founded TNEG, a Los Angeles-based production company that backs independent films by African-American directors and promotes the idea of Black Visual Intonation. Jafa won the Golden Lion for Best Artist of the International Selection at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. He is considered a leading filmmaker.

His work is being shown by the Pinault Collection for the first time at the “Untitled, 2020” exhibition at the Punta della Dogana.