This exhibition features a selection of seminal works by major Black artists alongside additional works by a vanguard of emerging and mid-career Black artists, all drawn from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. Through a series of provocative thematic vignettes in the Julia and Larry Pollock Focus Gallery and a set of temporary installations in the permanent collection galleries, powerful and suggestive juxtapositions invite audiences to forge new artistic, social, political, and intellectual connections across time and geography, with Black art, artists, and thinkers at the core.
Currents & Constellations: Black Art in Focus
Ellen Gallagher Bouffant Pride, 2003. Collage of photogravures, plasticine, paint, ink, and found objects; sheet: 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Judith and James Saks in memory of Lynn and Dr. Joseph Tomarkin Endowment, 2003.340. © Ellen Gallagher. Courtesy Gagosian.
Richard Hunt, Fragmented Figure Construction, 1963. Welded steel, 56 x 26 x 26 inches. Gift of Arnold H. Maremont
Sanford Biggers, Cumulo, 2014. Spray paint, interior paint, fabric-treated acrylic paint; 72 x 74 1/2 inches. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Agnes Gund, 2015.82. © Sanford Biggers
Jack Whitten, Rho I, 1977. Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 84 inches. Gift of Scott C. Mueller and Margaret Fulton Mueller. © Jack Whitten
Titus Kaphar, Shadows of Liberty, 2016. Oil and rusted nails on canvas, 108 x 84 inches. Yale University Art Gallery. © Titus Kaphar
“The Warhol Foundation aims to support the full range of artistic activity in America—from exhibitions at major museums to neighborhood projects by artist collectives. Arts writers, through the range and specialization of their individual interests, touch upon all of this activity—illuminating and interrogating it and bringing it into conversation with the public. Support for artists is not complete without support for the circulation and serious consideration of their ideas. The Arts Writers Grant program keeps artists at the center of cultural dialogue and debate—in our opinion, right where they belong.”
Joel Wachs, President