Emerging Artists Subvert Black Narratives in “DISEMBODIMENT” Exhibition

Jeff McLane. Courtesy of UTA Artist Space.

Seminal curator and gallery owner Mariane Ibrahim Lenhardt has organized a group exhibition at the UTA Artist Space entitled “DISEMBODIMENT.” A collection of progressive works by emerging Black artists are displayed throughout the sprawling LA space spanning figurative paintings, sculpture, and film. Participating artists include Jarvis Boyland, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Jerrell Gibbs, Marcus Jahmanl, Clotilde Jiménez, and Vaughn Spann.

In her curation, Lenhardt aims to subvert “established narratives around race and identity in order to reshape the viewer’s understanding of reality,” as per a press statement. “Taken as a whole, their work denominates the ascension of a new generation of Black artistry, succeeding the generation of Post-civil rights artists.”

In addition to the group show, installations that evoke “the limitations on Black boyhood and self-image” are presented on the second and third exhibition rooms of the gallery. One of the works spotlights a motionless child’s swing held up with industrial chains. The other piece is a screening of Where Are the African Gods? by Rodney Passé — a moving picture driven by a recording to the late lyricist Abbey Lincoln that sheds light on the African American experience through fathers and their sons.

As visitors make their way throughout the galleries, they will happen upon a gift shop featuring custom “Disembodiment” garments and merchandise designed by Jamie Benson of Context Projects alongside collaborative capsules done up with Union LA. All items are available for purchase at the UTA Artist Space as well as UTAArtistSpace.com.

The exhibition is on view until January 25, 2020. Check out the installation views above.

UTA Artist Space
403 Foothill Rd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Elsewhere in art, the National Gallery of Victoria recently released a 350-page book to commemorate KAWS’ “Companionship in the Age of Loneliness” career survey.