Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility presents art with hidden figures, exploring the tension between being seen and being hidden in contemporary society. The artists in the exhibition use a variety of techniques to go dark, including shadowing, body rotation, new materials and digital tools such as chroma-key screens. These methods blur the line between figuration and abstraction, challenging visual perception.
Housed in the famous rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum, Going Dark features over 100 works by 28 artists, the majority of whom are black and more than half of whom are women. While most of the works date from the 1980s to the present, some were created in the 1960s and 70s by iconic artists such as David Hammons, Faith Ringgold and Charles White, demonstrating the influence of Conceptual art on contemporary artists’ exploration of visibility. Going Dark is organized by Ashley James, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art. The exhibition will be open from 20 October 2023 to 7 April 2024. Find out more details on the Guggenheim Museum website.
Irreducible Convergence, 2020.
Photography courtesy of JOIRI MINAYA
Spectral Keepers, 2020.
Photography courtesy of SANDRA MUJINGA and THE APPROACH, LONDON
Nobody Knows My Name # 1, 1965 (detail).
Photography courtesy of MICHAEL ROSENFELD GALLERY
Spectral Keepers, 2020.
Photography courtesy of SANDRA MUJINGA and THE APPROACH, LONDON
Featured photography courtesy of GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
