The first major museum exhibition devoted to the subject, Multiplicity presents 75 major collage and collage-informed works that reflect the breadth and complexity of Black identity. Featuring an intergenerational group of artists, Multiplicity explores the varying ways collage is employed and how the technique suggests diverse conceptual concerns such as cultural hybridity, notions of beauty, gender fluidity, and historical memory. By assembling pieces of paper, photographs, fabric, and salvaged or repurposed materials, these artists create unified compositions that express the endless possibilities of Black-constructed narratives despite our fragmented society.
Artists in the exhibition
- Nina Chanel Abney
- Derrick Adams
- Radcliffe Bailey
- Sanford Biggers
- McArthur Binion
- Brittney Boyd Bullock
- Mark Bradford
- Tay Butler
- Zoë Charlton
- Andrea Chung
- Njideka Akunyili Crosby
- Jamal Cyrus
- M. Florine Démosthène
- Derek Fordjour
- Genevieve Gaignard
- Lauren Halsey
- Kahlil Robert Irving
- Tomashi Jackson
- Arthur Jafa
- Rashid Johnson
- Yashua Klos
- YoYo Lander
- Rick Lowe
- Kerry James Marshall
- Rod McGaha
- Lester Julian Merriweather
- Helina Metaferia
- Wardell Milan
- Joiri Minaya
- Troy Montes Michie
- Devin N. Morris
- Wangechi Mutu
- Narcissister
- Rashaad Newsome
- Lovie Olivia
- Ebony G. Patterson
- Howardena Pindell
- Jamea Richmond-Edwards
- Deborah Roberts
- Lanecia Rouse Tinsley
- Tschabalala Self
- Vitus Shell
- Devan Shimoyama
- David Shrobe
- Lorna Simpson
- Nyugen Smith
- Paul Anthony Smith
- Shinique Smith
- Mickalene Thomas
- Kara Walker
- Didier William
- Kandis Williams
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue with scholarly essays and will travel to two yet-to-be announced venues.
Organized by the Frist Art Museum
Platinum sponsor
Supported by a major grant from
Supported in part by
Education and community engagement supporter
Spanish translation sponsor
Presented in part by
Exhibition gallery
Yashua Klos. Uncle Scott, 2022. Woodblock prints on archival paper, Japanese rice paper, acrylic, spray paint, colored pencil, and wood mounted on canvas; 72 x 60 in. Collection of Marc Rockford and Carrie Gish, courtesy of the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York. © 2023 Yashua Klos
Howardena Pindell. Untitled #5, 2013. Mixed media on paper collage; 12. x 16 1/2 in. Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery. © 2023 Howardena Pindell
Tschabalala Self. Sprewell, 2020. Fabric, thread, painted canvas, silk, jeans, painted newsprint, stamp, thread, photographic transfer on paper, and acrylic on canvas; 84 x 72 1/4 x 2 1/2 in. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Gift. Image courtesy of the artist and Pilar Corrias, London. © 2023 Derrick Adams
Derek Fordjour. Airborne Double, 2022. Acrylic, charcoal, cardboard, oil pastel, and foil on newspaper mounted on canvas; 60 x 100 in. Frances Fine Art Collection. Courtesy of the artist and Petzel Gallery, New York. Photo: Daniel Greer. © 2023 Derek Fordjour
Deborah Roberts. Let Them Be Children, 2018. Acrylic, pastel, ink, and gouache on canvas; 45 1/8 x 140 1/8 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2019.1. © 2023 Deborah Roberts. Photo: Sydney Collins, © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Events and programs
Member Preview: Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage
Member Morning: Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage
