Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Evanston, IL presents:
Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey.
Till December 7,
About:
Internationally renowned artist Wangechi Mutu will transform the Block Museum into a lush, otherworldly environment this fall.
Wangechi Mutuhas achieved great global acclaim for her works in a wide range of artistic media.
The New York Times described her work as “magnetic…visually ravishing” and at a “peak moment.”
Born in Nairobi, Kenya and living in New York since the early 1990s, Mutu explores issues of gender, race, war, globalization, colonialism and the eroticization of the black female body. She creates mysterious composite figures pieced together with human, animal, machine and monster parts. She often combines found materials and magazine cutouts with sculpted and painted imagery, drawing from sources as diverse as international politics, African ethnography, fashion, eroticism and science fiction.
Just as Mutu applies a collaged approach to her physical material, she uses montage as a tactic to address issues of racial stereotyping, femininity and sexuality, and environmental degradation. To unpack the interwoven themes in her work, the Block has planned a robust schedule of fall programming. Scroll down to see a list of free events complementing Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey.
Mutu is best known for large-scale collages depicting powerful hybrid female figures in otherworldly landscapes. Many of her most iconic pieces are included in A Fantastic Journey, which features more than 50 works from the mid-1990s to the present. The exhibition includes rarely seen early works, new creations, sketches and the artist’s first-ever animated video, titled The End of eating Everything, featuring singer/songwriter Santigold.
The artist and members of her studio will transform the Block into an environmental installation that draws viewers directly into Mutu’s vision, including a monumental wall drawing made of materials such as Kenyan soil.
Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey is made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Major support is provided by Marilyn M. Arthur, the Ford Foundation, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Katherine Thorpe Kerr and Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. Additional generous support was provided by Duke University’s Council for the Arts; Gladstone Gallery, New York; Victoria Miro Gallery, London; and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
Support for the presentation at the Block Museum has been provided by the Diane and Craig Solomon Contemporary Art Fund and an anonymous donor.
Additional generous support has been provided by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Free fall events complementing Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey
The Block offers a unique context for Wangechi Mutu’s work, as Northwestern curricula frequently explore issues of racial stereotyping, femininity and sexuality, and environmental destruction. To highlight these connections and offer a multi-faceted experience of the exhibition, the Block has planned the following events:
Opening day celebration
Saturday, September 27, 2–5pm
Artist talk at 2:30pm next door at Louis Theater
Mutu will provide an overview of her work and participate in a conversation with Northwestern’s Huey Copeland, associate professor of art history.
COURTESY: SUSANNE VIELMETTER LOS ANGELES PROJECTS
6006 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
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f: +1 (310) 837-2148