The Black Paintings is a striking catalogue published to accompany Wes Lang’s UK debut: The Black Paintings, opening on 27 September 2024 and running until 9 March 2025. The exhibition showcases the complete series of ‘The Black Paintings’, created between 2022 and 2024, now exhibited for the first time. 


‘The Black Paintings’ vividly demonstrate the breadth of Lang’s inspiration, drawing from fine art heroes such as Francis Bacon, James Ensor, Francisco Goya and Alfred Munnings, as well as the kitsch imagery of his childhood. Lang masterfully blends these influences to create his distinctive and deeply personal style. Unique otherworldly characters – skeletons and disembodied skulls – are set against dark and obscured backgrounds or lush landscapes, creating story-like compositions that take on an unexpected liveliness. Lang’s works on paper, included in this catalogue, feature these same characters, but set against the blank white space of the page, embedded in intricately inscribed scenes with playful expressions and phrases that echo Taoist philosophy, reflecting the spiritual beliefs which drive Lang’s practice. 


Published in association with Newport Street Gallery, The Black Paintings catalogue features stunning reproductions of 96 paintings and 96 drawings, along with detailed shots of the works and striking visuals of Lang at work in his studio. 

Text by: Wallace Ludel
Interviewer(s): James Fox