Fictions

Now considered canonical exhibitions within contemporary art history, the Studio Museum’s “F” shows, inaugurated with Freestyle in 2001, have been widely recognized for their role in advancing innovative and groundbreaking dialogues around art and uplifting the work of emerging artists of African descent.  

The exhibition is the fifth in a series of emerging artist exhibitions presented by the Studio Museum, following Freestyle (2001), Frequency (2005–06), Flow (2008) and Fore (2012–13). Like its predecessors, Fictions illustrates the diversity and complexity of artistic practices by artists of African descent. Tracing the artistic developments since Fore, Fictions emphasizes the development of narrative content in contemporary art over the past five years. From the personal to the political and the everyday to the imagined, Fictions examines the stories that form the foundation of these artists’ practices.

Select artists from Fictions include Paul Stephen Benjamin, Genevieve Gaignard, Nikita Gale, Allison Janae Hamilton, Texas Isaiah, Walter Price, Christina Quarles, Deborah Roberts, Amy Sherald, and Sable Elyse Smith, among others. Select contributors include Jessica Bell Brown, Eric Booker, Ashley James, Oluremi C. Onabanjo, Hallie Ringle, and more.  

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9 × 12 in.