In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Frank Wimberley (1926–2025)
Endlessly experimental abstract expressionist
He was influenced by and an integral part of abstract expressionism and the Black Arts Movement, as well as a pillar of Long Island artist communities. “He explained the visions of artworks he still dreamt of making, sometimes waking him up in the night, enlivened with creative energy,” critic Jasmine Weber writes. “Into his final year, Frank Wimberley was still ripping, tearing, pasting, and painting paper to create new worlds.”
Read the full obituary here.
Carla Stellweg (1942–2025)
Dutch visionary of Latin American art
The curator, writer, and arts administrator forged a wider path for Mexican, Latine, and Caribbean artists on a global stage. She co-founded the influential contemporary art journal Artes Visuales, a quarterly bilingual publication that subliminally embraced the political, in 1973. “She was from everywhere and nowhere,” curator Andrea Valencia Aranda told Hyperallergic. “This gave her great courage, and allowed her to approach without prejudice artists and movements that did not represent the mainstream.”
Read the full obituary here.
Stan Beckensall (1932–2025)
British rock art archaeologist
He made significant discoveries in prehistoric rock art, assisted by local field workers, farmers, and shepherds. He wrote more than 40 books about everything from Hadrian’s Wall to castles in the Northumberland region of England.
Ed Kerns (1945–2025)
Abstract artist and educator who integrated science into his work
His paintings ranged from geometric abstraction to attempts to capture an octopus’s consciousness. He was a professor at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he helped establish its art center and develop an outdoor art trail.
Michael Smuss (1926–2025)
Polish-Israeli painter who drew from lived experience
He was part of the Jewish resistance during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and became a self-taught artist afterward. His paintings are often drawn from lived experience, and depict frustration and anguish as well as fond memories.
Sara Terry (1955–2025)
Documentary filmmaker and photojournalist
Her project Forgiveness and Conflict: Lessons From Africa, begun in 2006, intended to push back against the West’s attempts to judge, save, represent, and exploit the continent. She was passionate about visual literacy issues, and artistic director of the anti-war nonprofit Aftermath Project.
