Vision and Power: Works by Black Women Artists from the Permanent Collection

Feb 1 - Mar 31, 2026

In honor of Black History Month, we present work by some of the Black women artists in our permanent collection. Throughout history, and more evidently and recently, Black women have held this country together. From Harriet Tubman leading enslaved people to freedom to Fannie Lou Hamer fighting for voting rights to Stacy Abrams using political savvy to ensure that democracy is upheld.

This same vision and power exist amongst Black women artists, who exude a revolutionary perspective while reclaiming narratives through diverse artistic mediums, offering their audience a glimpse into intersectionality that provides insight into Black female experiences.

The permanent collection at Bader+Simon is a curated selection of work from the personal collection of our founder, Tamara White. The focus of the collection centers on work by and about underrepresented artists and themes, social justice, and the need to use art to educate and shift perspective.

Vision & Power presents powerful work by a selection of incredible Black women artists whose talent refutes the large statistics of white male artists plaguing galleries and museums today. Women who serve as cultural critics, storytellers, and activists, using art as a tool for resistance, community building, and redefining beauty and identity beyond the white, male gaze.

Rinella Alfonso
From the Permanent Collection: Braids for Church, 2023

Rinella Alfonso (1995, Willemstad, Curaçao) is a painter whose layered, evocative oil paintings explore memory, spirituality, and identity. She lives and works in Amsterdam.
other works by Rinella Alfonso
Oasu DuVerney
From the Permanent Collection: Join What, Die For Who?

Oasa DuVerney (b. 1979 Queens, NY) is known for her figurative works utilizing graphite on paper. DuVerney's work centers itself in social and political commentary that relates to her social status as a woman of color and a working-class person.
Also by Oasu DuVerney
Mary W.D. Graham
From the Permanent Collection: Tyrell

Mary W.D. Graham is a Philadelphia born, San Francisco based visual and performance artist working in the tradition of social practice. I used representational portraiture to depict her own ancestors, historical individuals, and fictive subjects on canvas and in clay. Mary offers the opportunity for the audience to place themselves within history, contextualize the present, and aid in the illustration of our future. Mary's performance work originates from long-standing vocal affinity, honed through classical and jazz training. She activates public spaces through improvation of melody or story in order to draw focus on the significance of a moment or place. Through work that promotes reflection on history, introspection and interpersonal connection, Mary's hope is to foster a consideration of our shared humanity.
Value Test: Brown Paper
by Mary W.D. Graham
Amanda Williams
From the Permanent Collection: The reach to look ahead and smile (Nadia)

Courtesy of the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. © Amanda Williams

Amanda Williams is a visual artist who trained as an architect. Her practice blurs the distinction between art and architecture through works that employ color as a way to draw attention to the political complexities of race, place and value in cities.