Fade

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 word “fade” carries many meanings: a cinematic transition, a type of haircut, or a skillful basketball move. “Fade” is both a departure and an adaptation, or something receding or slipping in and out of view. Here, “fade” becomes a framework for understanding how artists complicate the idea of determinacy by revisiting histories through abstracted forms, reshaping materials into unique compositions, and making work rooted in reverence and feeling.

Fade is the sixth edition of the “F” shows, a series of group exhibitions that began in 2001 with Freestyle, a landmark in defining contemporary Black art. The “F” shows that followed—Frequency (2005–06), Flow (2008), Fore (2012–13), and Fictions (2017–18)—all featured work by emerging artists of African descent and advanced innovative and groundbreaking dialogues within contemporary art.

Artists from Fade include Turiya Adkins,Harlan Bozeman, Kiah Celeste , Antonio Darden, Emmanuel Louisnord Desir, Jesús Hilario-Reyes, Y. Malik Jalal,Lola Ayisha Ogbara, Andina Marie Osorio, Utē Petit, Taj Poscé, Amina Ross, Coumba Samba, Shani Strand, Malaika Temba, Chiffon Thomas, London Pierre Williams. 

Select contributors include Chenoa Baker, Daniella Brito, Ryan C. Clarke, Akili Z. Davis, Destinee Filmore, Simon Ghebreyesus, Josie R. Hodson, Taylor Jasper, Shameekia Shantel Johnson, Gervais Marsh, Tayler Montague, Amandine Nana, Ade Omotosho, Nzinga Simmons, Diallo Simon-Ponte, LaCharles Ward, and Natalie Willis Whylly.

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9 × 12 in.