Room with multiple Pan-African works — Top: Hank Willis Thomas, *Branded Head* (detail), 2003, Ed. 1 of 3 lambda photograph, digital c-print, 99″ x 52″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. © Hank Willis Thomas. Courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Reclamation! Pan-African Works from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection

Mar 03, 2018 – Sep 09, 2018

The Taubman Museum of Art is pleased to present Reclamation! Pan-African Works from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection that features over one hundred works from various media highlighting the global migration of peoples across the world.

The exhibiting artists create work that investigates the universal conversation of migration, history, race and representation in art being made today. The exhibition captures the personal stories and collective histories of artists reflected through installations, videos, paintings and sculptures.

Drawn from DeWoody’s significant contemporary African diaspora collection, it features world renowned artists such as Willie Cole, Hank Willis Thomas, Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, Romare Bearden, Kehinde Wiley, Sanford Biggers, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, and Yinka Shonibare MBE (RA) among others working in a broad reach of media and conceptual approaches.

Presenting nearly 100 significant examples from her collection, the exhibition aims to represent artists whose work references ownership of their own home countries while developing narratives that embrace global histories.

About the Collector

Beth Rudin DeWoody, art collector and curator, resides between Los Angeles, New York City, and West Palm Beach. She is President of The Rudin Family Foundations and Executive Vice President of Rudin Management. Her Board affiliations include the Whitney Museum of American Art, Hammer Museum, The New School, The Glass House, Empowers Africa, New Yorkers for Children, and The New York City Police Foundation. She is an Honorary Trustee at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and on the Photography Steering Committee at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.

In December 2017, DeWoody opened a private art space in West Palm Beach, which presents viewable storage of her collection, as well as exhibitions. The space also holds private tours and events.

About the Exhibition

Reclamation! Pan-African Works from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection is co-curated by Laura Dvorkin of the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection and the Taubman Museum of Art and is presented by The Secular Society, with education programming support provided by Virginia Humanities.

EXHIBITION PREVIEW

SELECTED WORKS

Ndidi Emefiele, 2 girls and a dog (detail), 2017, Acrylic, printed paper-cut-outs, clock bezel, compact disk, textile embellishment on canvas, 39” x 31”, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist and Rosenfeld Porcini Gallery, London

Samson Kambalu, Lincoln (detail of video still), 2015, Digital video, colour, 49 seconds, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist and Kate MacGarry, London

Zanele Muholi (South African, born 1972), Nolwazi II Nuoro, Italy (detail) 2015, Archival pigment print 15.75″ x 11.8″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York

Vanessa German, Forgiveness is Good it Shines it Remembers and Forgets All At the Same Time it Washes the Soul Anew (detail), 2012, Mixed-media assemblage, 71 1/2″ x 18″ x 11 1/2″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist and Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York

Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Richard (detail), 2014, Black charcoal, gouache, oil pastel, oil paint on Coventry Vellum paper, 55″ x 43″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist

Kehinde Wiley, Jarrett (Study) (detail), 2009, Oil wash on paper, 39″ x 26″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York

Amy Sherald (American, born 1973), All the Unforgotten Bliss (the Early Bird) (detail), 2017, Oil on canvas, 54″ x 43″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (detail) 2009, Ink on paper, 30 1/4″ x 22 3/4″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. ©Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Aaron Fowler, Mom Knows, 2016, Mixed media, 125″ x 176″ x 30″ (part 1) 40″ x 27″ x 3″ (part 2), Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. Courtesy of the Artist and Diane Rosenstein Gallery

Nick Cave, Hustle Coat, 2014, Mixed media including trench coat, cast bronze hand, metal, costume jewelry, watches and chains, 59″ x 40″ x 14 1/2″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. ©Nick Cave. Photo by James Prinz Photography. Courtesy of the Artist and Jack, Shainman Gallery, New York

Hank Willis Thomas, Branded Head, 2003, Ed. 1 of 3 lambda photograph, digital c-print, 99″ x 52″, Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody. © Hank Willis Thomas. Courtesy of the Artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York