From the Museum of the African Diaspora:
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) presents
Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem
On View thru April 14, 2019
(San Francisco, CA)— The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco will be the inaugural venue for Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, a major traveling exhibition created by the American Federation of Arts
(AFA) in collaboration with The Studio Museum in Harlem. Black Refractions surveys close to a century of creative achievements by artists of African descent and is the first traveling exhibition in twenty-five years to reveal the breadth and expansive growth of the Studio Museum’s permanent collection. MoAD’s showing of the exhibition includes sixty-four works by over fifty artists across all media dating from
the 1920s to the present.
“The Studio Museum in Harlem is a sanctuary, foundation, and steward for artists of African descent around the world,” said Emily Kuhlmann, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs at MoAD. “The work that we do at MoAD is inspired and upheld by the legacy of the Studio Museum, and we are so honored to be able to share this work with our audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
The landmark exhibition explores the vital contributions of artists of African descent,
proposing a plurality of narratives of black artistic production and multiple approaches to understanding these works. Such an ambitious, multifaceted project is uniquely possible through the use of the Studio Museum’s collection. Through its pioneering exhibitions, public programs, artist residencies, and bold acquisitions, The Studio Museum in Harlem has served as a nexus for artists of African descent locally,
nationally, and internationally since its founding in 1968.
Through its groundbreaking Artist-in-Residence program, the Studio Museum has supported many distinguished artists at decisive stages in their careers. The exhibition includes artworks by renowned alumni of the residency program such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Chakaia Booker, David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley. Black Refractions also presents iconic works by artists Beauford Delaney, Barkley Hendricks, Alma Thomas, and James VanDerZee, among others.
The traveling exhibition is an important initiative created to share The Studio Museum in Harlem’s collection with audiences throughout the country during the closure of its galleries, as the Museum prepares for the construction of its new home, designed by Adjaye Associates in collaboration with Cooper Robertson. MoAD is pleased to be the first venue on the exhibition’s national tour that includes Gibbes Museum of Art (SC), Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (MI), Smith College Museum of Art (MA), Frye Art Museum (WA), and Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UT).
Black Refractions is curated by Connie H. Choi, Associate Curator, Permanent Collection at The Studio Museum in Harlem. MoAD’s presentation is organized by Emily Kuhlmann, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs, MoAD.
View Exhibition @ Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission St (at 3rd), San Francisco, CA 94105
Monday – Tuesday Closed
Wednesday – Saturday 11 am – 6 pm
Sunday – 12 pm – 5 pm
Website: https://www.moadsf.org/
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