James Little: Homage El Shabazz at Petzel

Petzel Gallery in Chelsea will present Homage El Shabazz, an exhibition of paintings by James Little, from November 5 to December 19, 2026. It takes place at the gallery's space at 520 West 25th Street, and its title comes from a series Little made in 1985.

Little was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952 and works in New York. He is an abstract painter whose work is built on geometric form and the relationships between colors. For many years he has used a technique that combines oil paint with wax, building up layered surfaces. He is regarded as an important figure in the history of Black American abstraction, and his paintings have been shown in museums and galleries.

One of the works presented is Homage El Shabazz #3 (1985), made in oil and wax on linen. Framed, it measures about 82.2 by 82.9 centimeters (32 3/8 by 32 5/8 inches); unframed, the canvas is about 62.9 by 63.5 centimeters (24 3/4 by 25 inches). The format is close to square. The artist's signature, the title and the date appear on the back. The number in the title points to a group of related paintings rather than a single piece.

"Homage" suggests a work made in response to a person or an idea. In Little's painting, though, the subject is the arrangement of color and line itself, so the 1985 pictures offer a chance to look at how he handled composition, color and the textured, waxy surface in the mid-1980s.

The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and is closed Sunday and Monday. Its location among Chelsea's galleries makes it easy to combine with other visits. The wax surface and the way layers of color sit against one another are best seen in person, up close.