James Gregory Atkinson

JAMES GREGORY ATKINSON⁣ Ebenholz⁣ ⁣Until February 7, 2026⁣ @galeriethomasschulte Potsdamer Strasse⁣, Berlin ⁣⁣Galerie Thomas Schulte presents „EBENHOLZ“, a solo exhibition by James Gregory Atkinson. The exhibition addresses the largely overlooked histories of Black Germany after World War II, assembling objects, sounds, and documents that trace these legacies. The exhibition closes today, so don’t miss the chance to come by.⁣⁣ ⁣ This latest iteration of Atkinson’s research unfolds at the intersection of biographical and historical narratives. The biographical aspect is filtered through numerous references to the musical career of Marie Nejar (1930–2025), who, after being compelled to act in Nazi propaganda films in the 1940s, performed as a “child star” under the stage name of Leila Negra in the 1950s. Nejar, who passed away in May 2025, was the last known Black survivor of Nazi Germany. Nejar’s life and voice—commemorated by a large gelatine print from an original negative and a jukebox with her discography—have served as reliable guides on Atkinson’s archival jaunts into post-war German history. They are presented here as a set of installations where nothing is out of place, and everything directly and intentionally connects to everything else, however mundane it may initially seem.⁣ -⁣⁣ Work: ⁣⁣ James Gregory Atkinson⁣ Teenager Leila Negra (Mädchenfalle), 2025⁣ Silver gelatin print from the original 10 × 15 cm celluloid negative; subject: Marie Nejar (stage name Leila Negra)⁣ Inscription on photograph: “Foto Schistal Wien Leila Negra 194 Austriapost-Karte Wien Repro.- verb.”⁣ prohibited, ca. 1949.⁣ 153.5 x 104.5 cm⁣ Edition of 1 plus 1 artist’s proof⁣ -⁣⁣ photo by @graysc.de

JAMES GREGORY ATKINSON⁣ Ebenholz⁣ ⁣Until February 7, 2026⁣ @galeriethomasschulte Potsdamer Strasse⁣, Berlin Galerie Thomas Schulte is presenting „EBENHOLZ“, a solo exhibition by James Gregory Atkinson. The exhibition addresses the largely overlooked histories of Black Germany after World War II, assembling objects, sounds, and documents that trace these legacies. The exhibition closes this week.⁣ -⁣ Work: ⁣ James Gregory Atkinson⁣ Juke-Joint, 2023 ⁣ Jukebox, vinyls (Leila Negra discography)⁣ -⁣ photo by @graysc.de ⁣

JAMES GREGORY ATKINSON⁣ Ebenholz⁣ ⁣Until February 7, 2026⁣ @galeriethomasschulte Potsdamer Strasse⁣, Berlin ⁣⁣⁣With the solo show „EBENHOLZ“ James Gregory Atkinson, further develops his research-intensive practice, delving into the histories of Black Germany after the Second World War. Through salvaged objects, documents, sounds, and images, Atkinson lends material presence to histories that have shaped Germany yet have often been excluded from official historical narratives.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ The exhibition’s name is a nod to Ebony magazine, first published in November 1945 for a Black US readership. An October 1948 issue is presented in an original wall vitrine from the Ray Barracks in Friedberg, where the artist’s father was stationed in the 1980s. It features the headline “Homes needed for 10,000 Brown Orphans.” The children were born to African American GIs and white German women and were systematically pressured into adoption or institutionalization. By 1956, 5,000 “Brown Babies” had been born in West Germany.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ In 1952, CDU politician Luise Rehling declared the children “a human and racial problem of a special kind.” That same year, the film Toxi popularized this narrative. The Toxi doll reappears in Atkinson’s installation in a Black Panthers costume, referencing Afro American GI activism at the time.⁣⁣⁣ —⁣⁣⁣ Works (details and installation views):⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ James Gregory Atkinson⁣⁣⁣ “Zeitfenster Tagesordnungspunkt 10, (Deutscher Bundestag 1952, 198. Sitzung)”, 2025⁣⁣⁣ Metal, glass, and wood; information display case sourced from Ray Barracks, Friedberg, Hessen, Germany⁣⁣⁣ Photography, documents, books, and various materials⁣⁣⁣ 106 × 131 × 10.5 cm⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ James Gregory Atkinson⁣⁣⁣ “Zeitfenster Mommie Mabel, („Brown Baby Plan“ Programm)”, 2025⁣⁣⁣ Metal, glass, and wood; information display case sourced from Ray Barracks, Friedberg, Hessen, Germany⁣⁣⁣ Photography, documents, books, and various materials⁣⁣⁣ 106 × 131 × 10.5 cm⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ Photos by @graysc.de ⁣

JAMES GREGORY ATKINSON⁣ Ebenholz⁣ ⁣Until February 7, 2026⁣ @galeriethomasschulte Potsdamer Strasse⁣, Berlin ⁣⁣At our gallery on Potsdamer Strasse, we present a solo exhibition by James Gregory Atkinson, „EBENHOLZ“, that further develops his research-intensive practice, delving into the histories of Black Germany after the Second World War. Through salvaged objects, documents, sounds, and images, Atkinson lends material presence to histories that have shaped Germany yet have often been excluded from official historical narratives.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ In this post, we focus on the work “Zeitfenster Daheim Unterwegs, (Ein deutsches Leben)” (2025). The installation brings together a letterboard display case sourced from Ray Barracks in Friedberg—where the artist’s father was stationed in the 1980s—with text quoting Ika Hügel-Marshall, German author, activist, educator, and artist of Afro‑German heritage. Combining metal, glass, wood, and a hard rubber letterboard, the work operates at the intersection of the biographical and the historical, opening a “time window” onto lived experience, memory, and displacement within post-war Germany.⁣⁣ —⁣⁣ Work:⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ James Gregory Atkinson⁣⁣ “Zeitfenster Daheim Unterwegs, (Ein deutsches Leben)”, 2025⁣⁣ Metal, glass, and wood; letterboard display case sourced from Ray Barracks, Friedberg, Hessen, Germany⁣⁣ Hard rubber letterboard with plastic letters; text quoting Ika Hügel-Marshall⁣⁣ 112 × 81.5 × 5 cm⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ photo by @graysc.de

JAMES GREGORY ATKINSON⁣ Ebenholz⁣ ⁣Until February 7, 2026⁣ @galeriethomasschulte Potsdamer Strasse⁣, Berlin Galerie Thomas Schulte presents EBENHOLZ, a solo exhibition by James Gregory Atkinson exploring Black Germany.⁣ ⁣ Children of Afro American GIs and German women were stigmatized; the 1952 film „Toxi“ shaped public perception. One Toxi doll reappears dressed in a Black Panthers costume in Atkinson’s installation, „Herzliche Grüße Toxi“ (2025), which brings together CARE packages sent from the US, marking 80 years of the CARE programme. On one of the gallery walls „Black Soldiers as Liberators: Kicking Fascism Out of Europe“ (2025) reworks an anti-Nazi postcard.⁣ —⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Works:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Black Soldiers as Liberators: Kicking Fascism Out of Europe, 2025⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ After an oversized anti-Nazi color propaganda postcard, circa 1944, origin uncertain⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Lithograph; original⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Acrylic and graphite on wall⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ dimensions variable⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Herzliche Grüße Toxi, 2025⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ 13 CARE Packages (post-WWII relief sent to Germany), containing 9 Procter & Gamble Ivory soaps and 3 cans of U.S. nonfat dry milk;⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Toxi-Puppe (1952), modeled after child actress Elfie Fiegert (“Toxi”) from the film Toxi (dir. Robert A. Stemmle); manufactured by Drei-M-Puppenfabrik, West Germany;⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Mr. J. Crow porcelain figure (Disney Classics, Fixin’ to Help You!).⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ dimensions variable⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Installation views and details photographed at Galerie Thomas Schulte by GRAYSC @graysc.de

The Goethe-Institut New York is pleased to present: 3 Lieder für Marie Nejar (3 Songs for Marie Nejar), a solo exhibition by James Gregory Atkinson. 📍 Exhibition Opening 📅 Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ⏰ 6:00–8:30 PM Developed over the past five years, this research-based exhibition brings together installation, video, sound, and photography to explore the absence of Afro-German experiences within dominant narratives of race, identity, and nationality in Germany. Through archival materials, oral histories, and performative practices, Atkinson reimagines memory as relational, living, and collective.  The exhibition is free and accessible to all, open Mondays - Thursdays from 10am - 6pm. 🎶 Album Release & Panel Discussion 📅 Thursday, January 15, 2026  ⏰ 6:30–8:00 PM Join us for the vinyl release of 3 Lieder für Marie Nejar, performed by Ahya Simone @ahyasimone and conceived by James Gregory Atkinson. The evening features a panel discussion with Atkinson, Simone, and Alexander Ghedi Weheliye @agweheliye reflecting on music as a space of memory and historical transmission. The vinyl honors the legacy of Marie Nejar (1930–2025), whose life and music were shaped by racial exclusion in Nazi and postwar Germany, offering a transatlantic perspective on Black diasporic histories through contemporary reinterpretation.

Every Artist Must Takes Sides – Resonanzen von Eslanda und Paul Robeson 14.11.2025 – 25.1.2026 Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg Der Künstler James Gregory Atkinson zeigt die Installation „Sohn/Bruder/Vater/Liebhaber/Freund, 2023.“ Darin verwebt er autobiografische und soziopolitische Erzählungen, um die Unsichtbarkeit Schwarzer Lebenswege in der deutschen Gesellschaft zu thematisieren. Indem sie den Blick auf die Repräsentation Schwarzer männlicher Subjektivität und das Nachwirken des Zweiten Weltkriegs aus der transatlantischen Perspektive richtet, ist sie zugleich ein Beispiel künstlerischer Archivpraxis. Artist James Gregory Atkinson presents the installation “Sohn/Bruder/Vater/Liebhaber/Freund, 2023” (Son/Brother/Father/Lover/Friend). In it he creates an autobiographical and sociopolitical narrative weave whose effect is to counter the invisibility of Black lives in German society. Focusing on the way Black male subjectivity is represented and the repercussions of the Second World War from a transatlantic perspective, it is also an example of an artistic approach to archival practice. „Sohn/Bruder/Vater/Liebhaber/Freund, 2023“ Installation mit 3 Pinnwänden, jeweils mit Fotografien, Dokumenten, Magazinen, Büchern und diversen Materialien / Installation with 3 bulletin boards, each with photography, documents, magazines, books, various materials, Maße variabel / dimensions variable Courtesy James Gregory Atkinson, Daniel Michael Shaw, Kirsten Koehler-Forsbach und / and Bestand Nachlass / Estate of Theodor Wonja Michael im DOMiD Archiv, Köln / Cologne 📷 James Gregory Atkinson (1) © Eike Walkenhorst (2) & (3) © James Gregory Atkinson; Foto: © Jens Gerber Gefördert durch / Funded by @kulturstiftungdesbundes und @bundeskultur Design: @stooooooodio #AkademieDerKünste @toxithegoat #JamesGregoryAtkinson @lllb_ @anujahf @johanna.m.keller @tomke_braun

Posted @withregram • @liberty.adrien Save the Date!
On April 9, It’s Just a Matter of Time opens at PalaisPopulaire in Berlin—a group exhibition featuring works by Kai Althoff, James Gregory Atkinson, Max Beckmann, Marianne Berenhaut, Heidi Bucher, Wisrah C.V. da R. Celestino, Christo, Tony Cokes, Latifa Echakhch, Ayşe Erkmen, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Shilpa Gupta, Petrit Halilaj, Lena Henke, Julian Irlinger, Martin Kippenberger, Nancy Lupo, Cildo Meireles, Philippe Parreno, Manfred Paul, Julia Phillips, Adrian Piper, Cornelia Schleime, Georges Tony Stoll, Rosemarie Trockel, Rachel Whiteread, & Kandis Williams. All buildings carry within their walls the echo of overlapping timelines. Every room, every crack in the façade, and every surrounding street contains signs of those who have lived and resided here. When a layer is removed, countless stories come to light. Similarly, art collections serve as guardians of time, holding within them the memories of generations and socio-political events. Through both the artworks they preserve and those they lack, collections document a present in flux. Set against the layered history of PalaisPopulaire, the exhibition brings together artistic positions from 1946 to the present, placing historical and contemporary pieces from the Deutsche Bank Collection in dialogue with works on loans by international artists. It’s Just a Matter of Time evokes a sense of absence, a reflection on how past narratives persist, resurface, and intertwine with unfolding realities. It’s Just a Matter of Time 10.4. – 18.8.2025 Curated by Liberty Adrien @liberty.adrien & Carina Bukuts @carina_rrroberta 
 Commissioned by Deutsche Bank, with a project coordination by Sara Bernshausen, Deputy Director, PalaisPopulaire and Christina März, Senior Art Curator, Deutsche Bank. The title of the show pays tribute to the eponymous work by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, created for the Kunstverein Hamburg in 1992. In the exhibition’s leaflet, I had the chance to write an essay on FGT’s work that reflect on both the piece and its absence.

Posted @withregram • My film ‘6 Friedberg-Chicago’, 2021 is included in the hour-long film programme accompanying the exhibition ‘Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker’ at Whitechapel Gallery, London. The programme of contemporary artists’ film invites us to reflect on the concerns within Rodney’s work and its relevance and influence today. Taking its title from a statement in one of Rodney’s sketchbooks, the programme explores the politics of the body, particularly as it is impacted by modern technologies and mediated by constructs of race, gender and disability. Contributing artists include: Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, Hannah Black, James Gregory Atkinson, Yazan Khalili, Carolyn Lazard, Zinzi Minott, Shahryar Nashat and Camara Taylor. The programme is curated by Richard Birkett, author of Donald Rodney: Autoicon (Afterall, 2023). @toxithegoat @whitechapelgallery Pictured: Still from Hannah Black, ‘The Neck’, 2014

Still processing the Donald Rodney #donaldrodney Retrospective @whitechapelgallery . As Black artists navigating through institutions and spaces built on racial exploitation, it’s hard not to feel the weight of Rodney’s contributions to both the British and global art scenes. Rodney isn’t just a blueprint; he’s an inspiration for generations to come. His work continues to shape our understanding of shared struggles and reminds us that Blackness cannot be confined to the borders of the nation-state. It’s both painful and frustrating that the issues he explored remain ever-present, as fascism continues to thrive under racialized capitalism, threatening to undo the hard-won progress our ancestors fought for and which Black communities continue to resist. Zoé Samudzi @babywasu writes, “Within the logics of racial capitalism, property rights are inscribed onto the body, challenging the limits of legal ownership of the body and its contents.” and thinking about Nana Adusei-Poku’s thoughts on heterotemporalities; no matter how much we advance, our histories remain inescapable, and (institutionalized) racism continues to challenge future Black artists and scholars. Rodney’s work goes beyond personal experience; it speaks to the global stories of Black life, resistance, and the ongoing fight for justice and accountability. This exhibition is not only a call to action but a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go.

“Hard Bodies: Aesthetic, Materiality, and Mediality of Masculinity in American and European Art and Visual Culture, c. 1900 – today” January 9–11, 2025 📍Goethe University Frankfurt a. M. Renate-von-Metzler-Saal, Casino 1.801 Campus Westend More information can be found here: /162497830/Generic_162497830.pdf 📧 Please register for the conference by sending your name via email to: [email protected] The conference is organized by Max Böhner (Humboldt University of Berlin/University of Potsdam), Antje Krause-Wahl (Goethe University), Clara J. Lauffer (Goethe University), and Simon Wendt (Goethe University). Photo Credit: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Arnold in Chainmail, archival inkjet print on cotton, embroidery thread, 5 x 5” 2016 ©️Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The eight artists James Gregory Atkinson, Živa Drvarič, Shaun Motsi, Lukas Müller, Ivan Murzin, Dennis Siering, Joana Tischkau, and Franziska Wildt have had their working practice at basis e. V. over the past four years. Since March 2021, they have been supported by the HAP Studio Programme, for which they have received free studios and an individually conceived mentoring programme. The works they created during this period are to be presented now in a closing exhibition. James Gregory Atkinson, Jailbird in a Peacock Chair, 2021, 4K video with sound, 3’40” loop, installation view, basis e.v. 2024/2025, 📸 @jensgerberfotografie hap studio-programme // exhibition 29.11.2024 to 16.02.2025 location @basisfrankfurt gutleutstraße 8-12 60329 frankfurt am main opening hours tuesday - friday 
2:00 - 7:00pm saturday, sunday 
12:00 - 6:00pm Curated by @_lukaspicard Supported by @hmwk_hessen #kulturamtfrankfurt