Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) reveals its latest coup—fashion prodigy Grace Wales Bonner will curate the sixteenth edition of the esteemed Artist’s Choice exhibition series. The London-based designer, celebrated for her eponymous fashion label, will handpick around fifty masterpieces from MoMA’s treasure trove to grace the museum’s street-level galleries from November 18, 2023, to April 7, 2024.
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Exploring MoMA’s vast collection, Wales Bonner brings forth the theme “Spirit Movers,” an ode to history’s profound impact on art and its ability to inspire contemplation and foster connections between diverse cultures and places. The exhibition is a celebration of Black cultural and aesthetic practices, paying tribute to the vibrant influences of the African diaspora. Enchanting works by illustrious artists, including Terry Adkins, Moustapha Dimé, David Hammons, Agnes Martin, Man Ray, and Betye Saar, will take center stage. Collaborating with Wales Bonner to co-organize this unparalleled show are Marlene Hess Curator Michelle Kuo and curatorial assistant Dana Liljegren.
The “Artist’s Choice: Grace Wales Bonner—Spirit Movers” will extend beyond the gallery walls with an accompanying catalogue. The selected artworks will engage in a harmonious dialogue with seminal texts by iconic Black authors from the past century. Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, June Jordan, Robin Coste Lewis, Ishmael Reed, Greg Tate, Jean Toomer, Quincy Troupe, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye will weave their words into the vibrant tapestry of art, enriching the exhibition with a symphony of perspectives.
Michelle Kuo, the exhibition curator, praises Wales Bonner for redefining style, turning it into not just a surface expression but a profound structure that encapsulates a myriad of histories, deep archives, and cultural identities from across the diasporic world. Wales Bonner’s creative genius extends beyond the realm of fashion, with accolades in curation, filmmaking, and publishing.
As the founder and artistic director of her eponymous label, she has breathed life into a distinct notion of cultural luxury, intertwining European heritage with the spirit of the Afro Atlantic. Her trailblazing vision earned her the prestigious CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year award in 2021, and she was honored with the LVMH Young Designer Prize in 2015. A multi-talented artist, Wales Bonner curated her first institutional exhibition, “A Time for New Dreams,” in 2019 at London’s Serpentine Gallery. Recently, she embarked on the ambitious four-year project “Between Critique and Hope” at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, aiming to organize an alternative archival practice inspired by the poly-rhythmicality of Afro-Atlantic music and art.
John C. Waddell. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 2023 Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos, courtesy Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris.
Expressing her profound gratitude, Wales Bonner acknowledges the privilege of engaging with MoMA’s renowned artists and their timeless works saying “It is an immense honor to engage with the artists and works in MoMA’s collection, and I wish to extend my deepest thanks to the museum for allowing me the space to create so freely, I hope the exhibition and associated publication resound with the spirit of the contributing artists and continue to conjure new dreams and new visions.”
The Artist’s Choice series, inaugurated in 1989, has seen illustrious participation from Yto Barrada, Amy Sillman, Peter Fischli, and David Hammons. Now, with Grace Wales Bonner at the helm, this renowned series is set to reach unprecedented heights.
