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Rob Fields

@robfields

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▶️ Art advisor focused on the African diaspora & Global South
▶️ Founder @mighty2xny
▶️ Boards: @uniondocs @voltaartfairs
▶️ Photos: @robfields.lens

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#latergram.

Last week I published my first op-ed of 2026 in @hyperallergic. In this piece I gamed out what a possible future of the US art market might be if and when new entry requirements for foreign visitors take effect. What does any reasonable person expect will happen if this government makes entry into the country too onerous? Folks will simply take their business elsewhere. Here’s what I wrote:

"The countries whose citizens would be subject to these new requirements [namely the UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Japan, and South Korea] collectively [include countries that] represent 34% of global sales. These are the collectors, gallerists, curators, scholars, and artists who animate the ecosystem. They’re not peripheral. They’re essential.

"If entering the United States suddenly requires surrendering your digital life and your family’s private information, how long before people simply choose not to come?"

Galleries, artists, museums, and art fairs all count on the easy cross-border flow of everyone involved in the art ecosystem. Folks will go where it’s easy to do business.

As my dad used to say, no one monkey stops the show.

Yes, we’re the United States. For now. But if we continue in this direction, that’s not going to mean much soon. The rest of the world will only put up with our government’s relationship-breaking behavior for so long. After that, we’ll need to get used to being isolated.

The comment period ends on February 9. Notably, the administration is only asking for comments on the technical aspects of the regulation, not the larger implications of it.

Big shout-out to @hakimbishara and @laxmiamin17 for sheparding this piece through.

Linkinbio, y’all.

#artadvisor #contemporaryart #artmarket #opinion by @robfields

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8 months ago

Back in the art streets: A photo dump from last week.

@ernatmack at @paulacoopergallery

#GoSeeArt #artadvisor #contemporaryart #africandiaspora #nycgallery

More Eric Mack

@gamaliel_artist at @paceprints

The gracious (and camera-shy) @torkwasedyson at @pacegallery. Photo of me and Ms. Dyson by @xavierscottmarshall

@leyla.faye at @companygallery

@johncedmonds also at @companygallery

@kellieromany at @mcbride_dillman

The latest from @debracartwright also at @mcbride_dillman by @robfields

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15 days ago

I wasn’t the photographer for @bridgett_d’s @helgathefilm, her first time back in the director’s chair in 30 years. That honor goes to our daughter, the quite capable @shotzbyabbie. However, I hung out on the set a few times, and here are a few of the shots I captured.

The fun part? I got to use my Fujinon 56/1.2! I hardly carry it, certainly not for street. So this was a real treat to be reminded of what it can do.

#filmset #behindthescenes🎬 #photography #fujilove #womendirectors taken in Brooklyn, New York by @robfields

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2 months ago

Figuration has a long history. Early paintings on cave walls showed someone rendering the animals around them. Fast forward to today, and we see across millenia that the impulse remains strong. All of which is to say, naturally, there’s a lot of figuration in the art world. Problem is, most of it is just okay.

In today’s parlance, folks would say it’s mid.

I mean, stop and ask yourself where the bar is for figuration. For me, I think of artists like @toyinojihodutola , @fahamupecou, @derrickadamsny, @asherald, and @jennpackerart, just to name a few. Now ask yourself who’s rising to that level or, at least, coming at figuration with a distinctive approach?

Which is why it’s refreshing and invigorating to see someone doing it well. Case in point is @t.c.sorrells, whose evolution as a figurative painter has been a pleasure to watch. His latest show in Brooklyn is at @richardbeaversgallery, and what you see is his increasing techical proficiency and his ability work across multiple planes in the painting—foreground, midground and background—that keep your eyes locked on his historical and allegorical depictions.

His current exhibition “Remastered” is him returning to paintings he produced over five years ago, next to works inspired by historical photographs, old books and found objects. What’s great is that an artist can be public about how their practice has evolved, and how that impacts both technique and vision.

“Remastered” has a short run through August 8th. If you’re in Bed-Stuy, stop by the gallery and check it out.

#contemporaryart #artadvisor #painting #figurativepainting #blackartist taken in Richard Beavers Gallery by @robfields

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2 months ago

Back out in these art streets!

Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing a spotlight showcase of work by Oklahoma-based figurative painter @caleblee81. This was my first encounter with Peterson and his work which, according to the show’s press release, focuses “on the transfer of life, care, and identity between people.”

A hallmark of his work is the fact that his paintings are purposely unfinished. Here’s what he writes about this approach:

“Through selective rendering, the figures reveal moments of giving and receiving, where growth occurs through touch, presence, and dependence. Unfinished areas signify both what is still forming and what has already been poured out, reflecting the quiet exchanges that shape us, often unnoticed but deeply telt. To be unfinished here is not to be lacking, but to be actively in use.”

Case in point is “Finders Keepers, 2026” in Slide 2. He shares that he and his wife have been together since they were 13 and 14. “There’s something sacred about being witnessed by someone for that long.” Peterson also points out that the painting is also about their children, and circles back to this idea of what’s being shared and what’s still forming. This idea is similarly expressed in “Mother, 2026” in Slide 7.

As of last night, “Stand By Me, 2026” (Slide 4) was the last piece still available.

Robert Peterson: Held Space runs through August 7 at @albertzbenda .

#artadvisor #GoSeeArt #contemporaryart #africandiaspora #painting taken in Albertz Benda by @robfields

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3 months ago

Honored to be part of I Am a Man, a powerful group exhibition curated by @love.lenalove, opening this Saturday on Governors Island.

Looking forward to discussing the black male experience at a panel discussion taking place during the opening with moderator Rob Fields.

📍 @duyemoves
405A Colonels Row
Governors Island, NY
@governorsisland

🗓 Saturday, July 11, 2026
🕛 Opening Reception: 12–5 PM
🗣 Panel Discussion: 1–3 PM

Panel Moderator: @robfields
Featured Poet: @sirdavidlawrenceglover

Curator: Darlene Deloris @love.lenalove

Featured Artists:
EuGene V Byrd III @eugenebyrdart
Spencer Charles @spencer_charles
David K Dixon @dkdixondesigns
Daniel Gilstrap @myownsundays
Fidelis Izekor @fidelis_100
Lewis Jackson @paint_by_lew
Watson Mere @artofmere_
Dario Mohr @dariomohr_art
Byron Smith @lupoblack24
Rim The Artist @rim_the artist
Khari Turner @khari.raheem
Lou Valentine @forde2tough
Lord Yatta @lordyattaarte

Wine Sponsor: Ofori Brothers
Website: oforibrothers.com
Instagram: @oforibrotherswine
TikTok: @oforibrothers

Grateful to be exhibiting alongside such an incredible group of artists. Hope to see you there.

#IAmAMan #GovernorsIsland #NYCArt #BlackArtists taken in Governors Island by @robfields

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3 months ago

A Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, if I ever saw one. Mediocre white men supposedly aspire to “greatness” for this country—as long as it centers them—but are too cowardly to show their faces. Bravo to this steadfast sista.
———
Repost @reuters A commuter sits as members of the group Patriot Front ride the metro on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in Washington, D.C., July 4, 2026. White nationalist organization Patriot Front posted on social media that it had arrived in the capital, and Reuters photographers saw hundreds of people dressed in Patriot Front outfits traveling on D.C. metro trains. 📷 @orr_photo by @robfields

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3 months ago

Citizen.

Martha’s Vineyard, 2023.

#america250 #photography #starsandstripes #frederickdouglas by @robfields

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3 months ago

Y’all: @bridgett_d’s crowdfunding campaign for her first film in 30 years ends in ~20 hours. Production on this short is fully funded, BUT we’re still ~$1,700 away from fully funding post-production — sound, score, color, edit. We’re so close: Can you pitch in?

Link to donate in bio.

#crowdfunding #indiefilm #blackwomendirectors by @robfields

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3 months ago

We’re in the final stretch for fundraising for @helgathefilm, @bridgett_d’s first film in three decades! The project is just under $4,000 away from reaching its stretch goal to fund post-production.

So, yes, there’s still time to donate. And to spread the word! Check out the link in bio for all the details.

Will you pitch in? We’re SO close, and with your help we’ll make it!

#indiefilm #blackwomendirectors #crowdfunding by @robfields

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3 months ago

This was originally posted on June 12. No one is stopping a genocidal ethno-state from running the same playbook it ran in Gaza, this time in Lebanon. Do borders mean nothing?

Repost @misanharriman Sigh… please watch this.

Via ME Eye by @robfields

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3 months ago

My dad, Carl David Fields, sometime in the late ‘60s or early ‘70’s.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there and to the men who are father figures in peoples’ lives. by @robfields

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3 months ago