Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem
May 22 - August 15, 2021
With works in a variety of mediums by nearly eighty artists dating from the 1920s to the present, Black Refractions presents close to a century of creative achievements by artists of African descent. Celebrating The Studio Museum in Harlem’s role as a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society, this landmark exhibition proposes a plurality of narratives of Black artistic production and multiple approaches to understanding these works. Organized by the American Federation of Arts and The Studio Museum in Harlem, the exhibition reveals the breadth and expansive growth of the Studio Museum’s permanent collection and includes iconic pieces by artists such as Barkley Hendricks, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson, Alma Thomas, and James VanDerZee, as well as Seattle’s own Jacob Lawrence and Noah Davis, among many others.
The Studio Museum in Harlem has served as a nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally, and internationally since its founding in 1968—a watershed year that saw the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, major demonstrations against the Vietnam War, and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s Black Power salute at the Summer Olympics. The Museum’s founders were a diverse group of artists, activists, and philanthropists, all committed to creating a working space for artists and a forum in which communities could view and interpret art in Harlem. At the same time, they sought to foreground the work of Black artists amid larger discussions of exclusionary practices in cultural institutions across the United States.
The Studio Museum’s Artist-in-Residence program—providing the “Studio” in the Museum’s name—was established as an opportunity for emerging artists to create new work in the heart of Harlem, a neighborhood historically associated with Black cultural production. The program has supported many distinguished creators at decisive stages in their careers, including Chakaia Booker, Jordan Casteel, David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley, all of whom have work included in the exhibition. Black Refractions will allow audiences across the country to engage more deeply with this important collection and provide additional contexts in which we can understand its powerful works.
Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem is organized by the American Federation of Arts and The Studio Museum in Harlem. This exhibition is curated by Connie H. Choi, Associate Curator of the Permanent Collection at The Studio Museum in Harlem. The presentation at the Frye Art Museum is coordinated by Amanda Donnan, Chief Curator, with David Strand, Associate Curator.
Major support for Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem is provided by Art Bridges. Sponsorship for the national tour provided in part by PURE. Support for the accompanying publication provided by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Generous support for the installation at the Frye Art Museum is provided by the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Hotel Sorrento, the Frye Foundation, and the Board of Trustees: Rhoda Altom, Mike Doherty, Gail Goralski, Jan Hendrickson, James Miles, Jennifer Potter, and Stuart Williams. News media sponsorship is provided by The Seattle Times. Broadcast media sponsorship is provided by KCTS 9.
Installation view of Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, May 22 – August 15, 2021. Photo: Jueqian Fang
Installation view of Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, May 22 – August 15, 2021. Photo: Jueqian Fang
Installation view of Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, May 22 – August 15, 2021. Photo: Jueqian Fang
Installation view of Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, May 22 – August 15, 2021. Photo: Jueqian Fang
Barkley L. Hendricks. Lawdy Mama, 1969. Oil and gold leaf on canvas. 53¾ x 36¼ in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Stuart Liebman, in memory of Joseph B. Liebman 1983.25. © Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks. Courtesy of the artist's estate, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York and American Federation of Arts.
Kehinde Wiley. Conspicuous Fraud Series #1 (Eminence), 2001. Oil on canvas. 72 1/2 × 72 1/2 in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; Museum purchase made possible by a gift from Anne Ehrenkranz 2002.10.14. © Kehinde Wiley. Courtesy of the artist, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California, and American Federation of Arts.
Jordan Casteel. Kevin the Kiteman, 2016. Oil on canvas. 78 x 78 in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; Museum purchase with funds provided by the Acquisition Committee 2016.37. Photo Credit: Adam Reich. © Jordan Casteel. Courtesy American Federation of Arts.
Kerry James Marshall. Silence is Golden, 1986. Acrylic on panel, 49 × 48 in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of the Artist, 1987.8. Photo Credit: Marc Bernier. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, and American Federation of Arts.
Otobong Nkanga. House Boy, 2004. Watercolor, ink, and acrylic on paper,12 3/8 × 9 1/4 in. The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg 2011.10.15. Photo Credit: Sasha Jelan. © Otobong Nkanga. Courtesy Otobong Nkanga, Lumen Travo, and American Federation of Arts.
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