Five Artists in the News: Nina Chanel Abney Riffs on the Harlem Renaissance, Why Murakami Still Believes in NFTs and Veronica Ryan Wants to Plant a Potato on the Fourth Plinth

Nina Chanel Abney’s Light-Footed, which depicts a dance party, brings to mind the paintings of the Harlem Renaissance artist William Henry Johnson, writes The Times. Abney is one of five leading artists asked to respond to artists featured in the highly-anticipated show, “The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism”, which opens soon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Veronica Ryan proposes placing a monumental sweet potato on top of the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square. Ryan is one of the seven shortlisted artists whose maquettes for the prestigious temporary commission have gone on show today, The Guardian reports.

Takashi Murakami still believes in NFTs, despite the disappointing performance of his "Murakami Flowers". He has trading cards in the pipeline. “It’s a very ‘wild wild West’ area. You cannot pinpoint it. The freedom zone is something I can believe in. Now, nobody believes in it, but I still do,” he tells the South China Morning Post.

Banksy’s stop sign remains missing as two men in London have been re-bailed until next month in connection with its swift removal, Artlyst reports. The Metropolitan Police is treating the work of street art’s disappearance as theft.

Tesfaye Urgessa will be the first artist to represent Ethiopia at the Venice Biennale. The exhibition in the Palazzo Bolani will be curated by the British poet Lemn Sissay, Art News Africa reports.