Last week in New York, Gagosian introduced the group exhibition “Social Works,” curated by Antwaun Sargent. Presenting together the work of 12 acclaimed artists, Sargent has composed a narrative on the relationship between space (of all kinds) and Black social practice, explored through recent artworks that were created with today’s cultural landscape in mind.
Christie Neptune, “Untitled,” 2021, Archival inkjet print, 18 x 24 inches; © Christie Neptune, courtesy of the artist and Grant Wahlquist Gallery, Portland, Maine, and Gagosian.
Featuring works from names like David Adjaye, Kenturah Davis, Theaster Gates, Lauren Halsey, Titus Kaphar, Rick Lowe, Christie Neptune, and Carrie Mae Weems, the artists have responded to the heightened urgency of the present-day for Black creatives to empower and connect through their use of space, be it public, institutional, personal, or psychic.
Rick Lowe, “Black Wall Street Journey #5,” 2021,
Acrylic and paper collage on canvas, 108 x 192 inches; © Rick Lowe Studio, photo by Thomas Dubrock, courtesy of the artist and Gagosian.
“Social Works” faces both a current reality and a new perspective, engaged through works like Gates’s installation honoring the DJ Frankie Knuckles for his pioneering role in the 1980s house music scene; Linda Goode Bryant’s Are we really that different?, highlighting the symbiotic and parasitic relationships between humans and nature, made in collaboration with architect Elizabeth Diller; and Zalika Azim’s look at the personal and collective narrative. The exhibition also features works overturning ideas of beauty, care, and labor by Allana Clarke, Kaphar’s painting A bitter trade, Alexandria Smith’s allegory of the contradictions surrounding the Black female form, and more.
On view at Gagosian’s 555 West 24th Street location, “Social Works” will remain open to the public through August 13.
Alexandria Smith, “Iterations of a galaxy beyond the pedestal,” 2021, mixed media on three-dimensional wood assemblage, 60 x 48 inches; © Alexandria Smith, photo by Prudence Cuming Associates, courtesy of the artist and Gagosian.
