WANAFOTO: Oregon

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07/09/25

Global Icons, Local Spotlight: Contemporary Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer @ Portland Art Museum

Global Icons, Local Spotlight: Contemporary Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer

Portland Art Museum

September 6, 2025 – January 11, 2026

Jeff Koons, American, (b. 1955)

Gazing Ball (da Vinci Mona Lisa), edition 38/40, 2016

Archival pigment print with inlaid mirrored glass

40 11/16 x 27 3/4 in. Overall

Published by Two Palms, New York, NY

Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer

Photography Courtesy of the artist and Two Palms, NY

Dinh Q. Lê, Vietnamese-American, (1968 - 2024)

I am Large, I Contain Multitudes, edition AP 1/1, 2009

Bicycle, steel, mirrors, wood, plastic, rubber, and metal lock

72 x 90 x 40 in. Overall, 90 x 106 1/2 x 57 in. Crate

Published by the artist

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Photography Aaron Wessling

Amy Sherald, American, (b. 1973)

As Soft as She Is..., edition 2/35, 2024

70-color screenprint on Lana Aquarelle 600 gsm

50 5/8 x 42 3/8 x 1 3/4 in. Frame,

45 1/4 x 37 in. Sheet, 40 1/4 x 32 in. Image

Published by Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Photography Aaron Wessling

Portland Art Museum (PAM) presents Global Icons, Local Spotlight: Contemporary Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer, an exhibition that shares works from Oregon’s foremost fine art collector by some of today’s leading artists with local Portland audiences.

Highlighting recent acquisitions from the collections of Jordan Schnitzer and his Family Foundation, the exhibition includes more than 75 works—some of which have never previously been exhibited—by celebrated artists of the 20th century, such as Louise Bourgeois, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, and Robert Rauschenberg, in addition to contemporary luminaries such as Nick Cave, Jenny Holzer, Mickalene Thomas, and Hank Willis Thomas.

Jordan Schnitzer, who has been named an ARTnews Top 200 art collector globally, is a lifelong Portland resident and local business owner. His collaboration with PAM to exhibit these collections is an extension of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation’s mission to share art with audiences across the globe.

“Instead of having to travel to New York City to go to the Museum of Modern Art or the Whitney, all you have to do is visit the Portland Art Museum to see exceptional artwork by some of today’s biggest artists," said Jordan Schnitzer. “Each year, when I collect new works, I think about how to share them with museums across the country through the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation exhibition program. My hope is that they will inspire audiences who might not otherwise have the opportunity to see works by these amazing artists.”

Jeffrey Gibson

Native American, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

and Cherokee, (b. 1972)

SPIRIT AND MATTER, 2023

Acrylic paint on elk hide inset in custom wood frame

90 x 72 1/2 x 5 in. Frame

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Photography Aaron Wessling

Tschabalala Self, American, (b. 1990)

Untitled (Bodega Run), 2023

Unique cast and pigmented paper in artist designed frame

40 1/4 x 49 1/4 in. Sheet, 45 3/4 x 54 3/4 x 6 7/16 in. Frame

Published by Two Palms, New York, NY

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Courtesy of the artist and Two Palms, NY

Photography Aaron Wessling

Katherine Bernhardt, American, (b. 1975)

Untitled, 2024

Monotype in watercolor and crayon

100 3/4 x 52 3/4 x 2 5/8 in. Frame, 96 x 48 in. Sheet

Published by Two Palms, New York, NY

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Courtesy of the artist and Two Palms, NY

Photography Aaron Wessling

The exhibition features works across various media including paintings, textiles and tapestries, sculpture, photography, glass, ceramics, mixed media, and more, many of which will be shown publicly for the first time. Additional artists in the exhibition include Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, Helen Frankenthaler, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Dinh Q. Lê, Julie Mehretu, and Tschabalala Self. The wide array of artists represented in this presentation includes numerous women, Native American and Black artists, and other artists of color, building on PAM’s own work to spotlight underrepresented artists who represent the myriad communities that comprise Oregon.

“Portland Art Museum is a vital cultural resource for the region, which is why we are thrilled to partner with the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation collection to provide our community more opportunities to access and find inspiration in the art that brings the world to Portland,” said Brian Ferriso, Director. “Jordan and his family have long been ardent supporters of the Museum and our city, and we are grateful for his collaboration with PAM to further our mission to engage and enrich Portland’s diverse communities through art.”

Nick Cave, American, (b. 1959)

Rescue, 2014

Mixed media including ceramic birds, metal flowers,

ceramic Basset Hound, and vintage settee

70 x 50 x 40 in. Overall

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Alison Saar, American, (b. 1956)

Plucked, 2022

Charcoal and acrylic on vintage cotton picking bag,

found hooks and chain, 93 x 28 in. Overall

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Photography Aaron Wessling

Christopher Myers, American, (b. 1974)

Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me, 2022

Stained glass lightboxes and tent

42 3/4 x 42 3/4 x 5 in. Frame

Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York

Photo by Dan Bradica

Other notable works in the exhibition include Christopher Myers' immersive and mesmerizing installation Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me, on view for only the second time since debuting at Art Basel Miami in 2022. Featured in the Museum’s grand Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Sculpture Court, the installation is a suite of stained glass paintings in lightboxes installed within a freestanding octagonal architectural structure, creating a chapel for contemplation of the illuminated compositions.

Several of the artists featured in the exhibition have previously exhibited works at PAM or are represented within PAM’s encyclopedic collection, including Hank Willis Thomas, with whom PAM organized a traveling solo exhibition in 2019, and Jeffrey Gibson, whose work PAM commissioned and exhibited at the Museum in 2023 before serving as co-commissioner for his exhibition for the U.S. Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (the Venice Biennale).

PAM has also previously featured works from the collections of Jordan Schnitzer in its exhibitions including En Suite: Contemporary Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation (2001), Location/Dislocation: Recent Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation (2003), Minimalism/Postminimalism: Selections from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation (2007), Ellsworth Kelly Prints (and Paintings) (2012), Anish Kapoor: Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer (2015), Andy Warhol Prints (2016), Josiah McElheny’s Cosmic Love (2018), and Jeffrey Gibson: To Name An Other (2022).

This exhibition is organized by the Portland Art Museum in partnership with The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.

ABOUT THE JORDAN SCHNITZER FAMILY FOUNDATION

Jordan Schnitzer

Courtesy of Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation’s contemporary art collection is one of the most notable in North America. The Foundation has shared its art with millions across the U.S. and internationally through groundbreaking exhibitions, publications, and programs. Founded by ARTnews Top 200 Collector Jordan D. Schnitzer—whose passion for art began in his mother’s contemporary art gallery in Portland, Ore.—the Foundation has organized over 180 exhibitions from its collection and additionally loaned thousands of artworks to over 120 museums at no cost to the institutions. Jordan Schnitzer began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in 1988 and today is North America’s largest print collector. His Foundation’s collection consists of more than 22,000 works of art, including a wide variety of prints, sculptures, paintings, glass, and mixed media works.

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM - PAM

1219 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR 97205

portlandartmuseum.org

07/04/24

Futuristic Footwear Design Exhibition @ Portland Art Museum - "Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks"

Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks

Portland Art Museum

March 30 - August 11, 2024

Nike

Nike MAG

2015

Courtesy of the Department of Nike Archives,

American Federation of Arts, and Bata Shoe Museum

Zaha Hadid x United

Nude NOVA, 2022

First designed in 2013

Courtesy American Federation of Arts

and Bata Shoe Museum

F_WD XP4_Mavy, 2021

Courtesy American Federation of Arts

and the Bata Shoe Museum

Portland Art Museum, in partnership with the Bata Shoe Museum in Canada, presents Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks is a groundbreaking exhibition that features nearly 60 futuristic footwear designs pushing the boundaries of what footwear can be.

Featuring an incredible mix of fashion, design, gaming, new media, architecture, and material arts as well as sustainable and collaborative practices, the exhibition features work by designers as diverse as Rem D. Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid, innovators Mr. Bailey and Salehe Bembury, as well as designs made in collaboration with fashion icons Rick Owens, Stella McCartney, and Yohji Yamamoto, and top gaming companies including PlayStation, EA Sports, and more.

“The future is always being shaped by the present. The exhibition includes many incredible and innovative new footwear designs that are promising to transform what we will wear tomorrow. From sneakers created to address issues related to sustainability and inclusion to shoes that blur the line between the real world and the metaverse, this exhibition explores how forward-looking creators are helping us step into the future.” — Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator, Bata Shoe Museum.

EKTO One Robotic VR boots, 2021

Collection of Brad Factor

Courtesy American Federation of Arts

and the Bata Shoe Museum

Jeff Staple x RTFKT

Meta-Pigeon K-Minus, 2021

Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum,

gift of RTFKT

Courtesy American Federation of Arts

and the Bata Shoe Museum

Future Now features sections exploring Innovation, Sustainability, Transformative, and Virtual shoes, and include digitally designed and 3D-printed shoes, sneakers made from mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics, and footwear created for the metaverse. The ahead-of-its-time Nike Mag, conceived for Back to the Future Part II by Portland’s own Tinker Hatfield, will also be on display, as well as recent innovators MSCHF’s Big Red Boots and EKTO VR’s One Robotic Boots and artist collaborations like Takashi Murakami x RTFKT.

“This exhibition expands the possibilities of what footwear design can be, presenting the future right at our feet,” says Amy Dotson, Director of PAM CUT and Curator of Film & New Media for Portland Art Museum. “The show is a love letter to all of the artists, storytellers, designers and visionaries who dare to think differently—many who live and work right here in Portland, the shoe capital of the United States.”

SCRY

Undercurrent P Virtual Prototype, 2022

Courtesy American Federation of Arts

and the Bata Shoe Museum

Salehe Bembury x Cocs

Pollex, 2021

Courtesy American Federation of Arts

and the Bata Shoe Museum

Mr. Bailey

Octopus Shoe, 2018

Collection of Mr. Bailey

Courtesy American Federation of Arts

and the Bata Shoe Museum

Featuring wildly mold-breaking exhibition design by local female-driven Osmose Design—whose work has been featured in The New York Times and Architectural Digest and includes the recent reimagining of PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater—this show is an incredible opportunity to set foot into a world of cutting edge thinking around new artistic practices and technology that are revolutionizing our tomorrow.

Unique to Portland Art Museum’s presentation of the exhibition is a collaboration with Doernbecher Freestyle, celebrating its 20th year of partnership between OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and NIKE, Inc. This partnership pairs Doernbecher patient-designers with NIKE, Inc. product creation employees to create footwear that brings each patient’s vision and story to life – with 100% of the profits from retail sales donated to the children’s hospital.

Curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator, Bata Shoe Museum, and curated for PAM by Amy Dotson, Director of PAM CUT// Center for an Untold Tomorrow and Curator, Film and New Media. The exhibition is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum.

Upcoming exhibitions at Portland Art Museum:

- Monet to Matisse: French Moderns

June 8 - September 15, 2024

- Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm

September 14, 2024 - January 19, 2025

- Psychedelic Rock Posters and Fashion of the 1960s

October 19, 2024 - March 30, 2025

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR 97205

www.portlandartmuseum.org

12/12/23

Throughlines: Connections in the Collection @ Portland Art Museum

Throughlines:

Connections in the Collection

Portland Art Museum

October 28, 2023 – November 1, 2024

Corita Kent (American, 1918-1986)

somebody had to break the rules, 1967

Color screenprint on Pellon, image/sheet: 29 7/8 in x 36 1/16 in

Museum Purchase: Print Acquisition Fund.

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2016.89.1

Gabriel Revel (French, 1643-1712)

Portrait of a Sculptor, ca. 1680

Oil on canvas, 26 1/4 in x 22 1/4 in

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Binney, 3rd.

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 68.34

Bue Kee (American, 1893-1985)

Self-Portrait, ca. 1930

Oil on canvas, 19 1/4 in x 15 1/2 in

Gift of Michael Parsons and Marte Lamb.

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2005.114.3

Yanagihara Mutsuo (Japanese, born 1934)

Mandolin, 1966

Stoneware with brown and yellow glaze, 23 1/2 in x 9 1/2 in x 10 5/8 in

Museum Purchase: Caroline Ladd Pratt Fund.

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 68.23

The seventh oldest museum in the United States, the Portland Art Museum is internationally recognized for its permanent collection and ambitious special exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s holdings and the world’s finest public and private collections. The Museum’s collection of more than 50,000 objects, displayed in 112,000 square feet of galleries, reflects the history of art from ancient times to today. The collection is distinguished for its holdings of arts of the native peoples of North America, English silver, and the graphic arts. An active collecting institution dedicated to preserving great art for the enrichment of future generations, the Museum devotes 90 percent of its galleries to its permanent collection.

Throughlines: Connections in the Collection offers a fresh look at the Portland Art Museum’s collections by bringing together artworks from diverse geographies, cultures, and time periods that do not typically share a gallery.

Ka'ila Farrell-Smith (American, Klamath, and Modoc, born 1982)

After Boarding School: In Mourning, 2011

Oil on canvas, 36 in x 24 in

Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the Native American Art Council

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2012.100.1

Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977)

Likunt Daniel Ailin (The World Stage: Israel), 2013

Bronze, 45 in x 23 in x 19 in, Museum Purchase:

Funds provided by patrons of the 2014 New for the Wall

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2014.125.1

William Cumming (American, 1917-2010)

Three Kids, 1968

Oil on Masonite, 23 1/2 in x 35 5/8 in

Gift of Sandra Stone Peters.

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 86.70.5

Throughout time and place, artists have created images, objects, and experiences that ask us to consider ourselves and our world from different perspectives. Leading with a sense of curiosity and wonder, the curatorial team searched the collections, reflecting on the ways art connects everyone across time. They asked themselves and each other: What does a video art installation share with a European oil painting? A conceptual art photograph with a Native American woven basket? A Chinese vase with a print emblazoned with a poetic message?

The curatorial team developed four themes, including each collection broadly and in surprising ways. Drawing from portraits and figurative art, Pose looks at our desire to represent one another and to be represented. Environment explores how artists help us understand and honor nature and place. Expect the Unexpected shows how artists innovate with materials and explore unconventional processes in ways that broaden how art can be made and what it might mean. Color presents the powerful pop of pigments, paints, inks, glazes, and dyes, vibrantly lifting the senses.

The exhibition will also include programming curated by PAM CUT// Center for an Untold Tomorrow, the Museum’s film and new media arm, along with the Museum’s Learning and Community Partnerships department. Programs and activations include screenings, discussion groups, pop-ups, workshops, and more.

Throughlines is intended to be fun, inspiring, and thought-provoking for visitors who are accustomed to seeing the collection in siloed galleries. As the Museum campus undergoes transformation, this exhibition offers a preview of the kinds of collaborations and creative approaches that visitors will encounter when the Museum’s renovation and expansion project is complete.

Tim Bavington (American, born England, born 1966)

Voodoo Child, Slight Return (solo), 2002

Acrylic on canvas, 54 in x 72 in

Gift of the Contemporary Art Council.

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2002.12

Zhang Hongtu (Chinese, active United States, born 1943),

After Shitao's Landscape Album:

Shitao–Van Gogh, from the series Ongoing Shan Shui, 2002

Oil on canvas, 48 in x 36 in,

Gift of Judith B. Anderson

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2017.31.1

Raymond Jonson (American, 1891-1982)

City Perspectives, 1932

Oil on canvas, 47 3/4 in x 37 3/4 in

Gift of Mr. Arthur H. Johnson.

Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 78.17

Curatorial Team

Throughlines: Connections in the Collection is presented by the Portland Art Museum’s curatorial team, in collaboration with colleagues in PAM CUT// Center for an Untold Tomorrow and the Museum’s Learning and Community Partnerships department.

Kathleen Ash-Milby, Curator of Native American Art

Mary Weaver Chapin, Ph.D., Curator of Prints and Drawings

Julia Dolan, Ph.D., The Minor White Senior Curator of Photography

Amy Dotson, Curator of Film and New Media and Director of PAM CUT

Becky Emmert, Head of Accessibility

Erin Grant, Assistant Curator of Native American Art

Jaleesa Johnston, Head of Public Programs and Engagement

Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D., The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Asian Art

Grace Kook-Anderson, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art

Sara Krajewski, The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

Stephanie Parrish, Director of Learning and Community Partnerships

Ben Popp, Head of Artist Services, PAM CUT

Teena Wilder, Art Bridges Community Partnerships & Curatorial Fellow

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

1219 SW Park Aveenue, Portland, OR 97205

portlandartmuseum.org

17/11/23

Black Artists of Oregon @ Portland Art Museum

Black Artists of Oregon

Portland Art Museum

September 9, 2023 – March 17, 2024

Charles Tatum (American, 1937–2008)

Cosmic Woman, 1973

Wood panel sculpture, 25” x 14” x 14.5"

Collection of Patricia Soltys

Photographer: David Czuba

Natalie Ball

Mapping Coyote Black, textile, 2015, 10" x 10"

Courtesy of the Artist

Photographer, E.G. Schempf

Jeremy Okai Davis (American, born 1979)

Hue (Streat), 2021

Acrylic and One Shot on canvas, 50" x 50"

Photographer: Mario Gallucci

Penda Diakite (Malian-American, born 1992)

Mandiani, 2021

Acrylic, rubber, collage on wood panel 60" x 48"

Photographer: Penda Diakite

The exhibition Black Artists of Oregon, presented by the Portland Art Museum, highlights and celebrates the work of Black artists in Oregon over more than a century, exploring this history both through the lens of Black artists whose works are represented in the Museum’s collection as well as the works of influential artists who, historically, have not been exhibited or held in museum collections.

Considering both the presence and absence of Black artists is critical to understanding the breadth of Black artistic production in Oregon—even in the midst of historic exclusion—as well as how the impact of that history affects our understanding of American art history and the history of the Pacific Northwest. This exhibition serves to deepen the awareness of the talented artists who have shaped and inspired artists regionally and nationally, and it is the first of its kind to consider the work of Black artists collectively in Oregon.

Beginning in the 1880s and spanning through today, Black Artists of Oregon captures the Black diasporic experiences particular to the Pacific Northwest with 67 artists and over 200 objects. Artists represented in the exhibition includes Thelma Johnson Streat, Al Goldsby, Charlotte Lewis, Isaka Shamsud-Din, Ralph Chessé, Charles Tatum, Arvie Smith, Shedrich Williames, Harrison Branch, Bobby Fouther, and Carrie Mae Weems, among others. The exhibition and programming also include the works of contemporary and younger artists working now, functioning as bright threads and offering intergenerational conversation throughout the exhibition, including sidony o’neal, Jeremy Okai Davis, damali ayo, Sharita Towne, Melanie Stevens, Lisa Jarrett, Tristan Irving, Ebin Lee, and Jaleesa Johnston.

Carrie Mae Weems

Untitled (Woman with daughter), from the series Kitchen Table, 1990

Gelatin silver prints

Gift of the Contemporary Art Council

Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York., 94.19a-c

Isaka Shamsud-Din

Rock of Ages, 1976

Oil, gold leaf, and mirror on canvas

Gift of Roxie Schell and Damon Tempey

Thelma Johnson Streat

Monstro the Whale, 1940

Wool

Courtesy of the Fine Arts Collection,

U.S. General Services Administration.

New Deal Art Project, public domain, L42.32.1

Shedrich Williames (American, born 1934)

Untitled, 1972

Gelatin silver print, image: 13 3/16 in x 10 3/8 in

sheet: 14 in x 10 15/16 in

Gift of Al Monner, 94.36.1

Iván Carmona Rosario (Puerto Rican, born 1973)

Mariconeo, 2022

Mineral silicate paint on ceramic, 82" x 20" x 16"

Courtesy of the artist

Photographer: Mario Gallucci

Through the narrative flow of the exhibition, visitors are experience work by Black artists across decades and generations. Particular attention is given to the works of Black artists who were producing work during the Black Arts Movement of the late 1960s, ’70s, and early ’80s, such as Portland-based painter Isaka Shamsud-Din. The exhibition is also mark regional artistic connections with global movements for Black liberation, as seen in the work of Charlotte Lewis alongside Portlanders Organized for Southern African Freedom and artists like Sadé DuBoise, whose “Resistance” poster series contributed to Portland’s 2020 George Floyd protests. Without chronological constraints, the exhibition is grounded by the work of elder artists, intergenerational conversations, and live activation in the exhibition galleries.

Black Artists of Oregon builds upon guest curator Intisar Abioto’s original research since 2018 exploring the lineage and legacy of Black artists in Oregon. The exhibition continues Abioto’s research, which is grounded in Black American practices of listening, keeping, and passing on each others’ stories.

“Far from isolated or ancillary, Black arts and cultural production in Oregon has been in conversation and interchange with the world, and a part of its arts and cultural movements, all this time,” says Intisar Abioto. “Black Artists of Oregon is a heralding of Black presence, interchange, influence, and impact.”

Arvie Smith

Dem Golden Slippers, 2007

Oil on linen, Gift of Donna Hammar

Harrison Branch (American, born 1947)

Untitled, Corvallis, Oregon, 1975

Gelatin silver print, image: 7 5/16 in x 9 1/2 in

sheet: 13 1/2 in x 15 3/4 in

Gift of the Photography Council, 2002.58.4

Adriene Cruz (American, born 1953)

Egungun, 2013

Mixed media embellished fabric 32 x 36 inches

Collection of Adriene Cruz

Melanie Stevens (American, born 1979)

Reflection II: Charles In Form, July 2023

Linocut print 22 x 30 inches

Courtesy of the artist

Bill Rutherford (American, born 1937)

Wabi Sabi: Imperfect Beauty

Eucalyptus on marble base, 12 x 7 x 7 inches

Courtesy of the Artist

Artists featured in Black Artists of Oregon

manuel arturo abreu (b. 1991)

damali ayo (b. 1972)

Natalie Ball (b. 1980)

J.S. Bell (1882-1925)

Harrison Branch (b. 1947)

Nikesha Breeze (b. 1979)

Grafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918)

Richard Brown (b. 1939)

Iván Carmona Rosario (b. 1973)

David Ornette Cherry (1958-2022)

Ralph Chessé (1900-1991)

Robert Colescott (1925-2009)

Licity Collins (b. 1972)

Adriene Cruz (b. 1953)

Cleo Davis (b. 1974)

Jeremy Okai Davis (b. 1979)

Baba Wagué Diakité (b. 1961)

Penda Diakité (b. 1992)

Modou Dieng Yacine (b. 1970)

Sadé DuBoise (b. 1993)

Ray Eaglin (1941-2004)

Mo Fee (1969 – 2020)

Bobby Fouther (b. 1950)

Henry Frison (1940-2020)

Julian V.L. Gaines (b. 1991)

Al Goldsby (1930-2002)

Sherrian Haggar (1946-2019)

Elijah Hasan (b. 1966)

Patricia Herron (b. 1951)

Jason Hill (b. 1976)

Janice Ingersoll (b. 1949)

Tristan Irving (b. 1990)

Lisa Jarrett (b. 1977)

Jaleesa Johnston (b. 1989)

Nick Jones (b. 1945)

Arnold Kemp (b. 1968)

Rupert Kinnard (b. 1954)

ebin lee (b. 1989)

Charlotte Lewis (1934-1999)

Geeta Lewis (b. 1956)

Mark Little (b. 1948)

Willie Little (b. 1961)

Latoya Lovely (b. 1982)

Ivan McClellan (b. 1982)

Chris McMurry (b. 1970)

Christine Miller (b. 1990)

sidony o’neal (b. 1988)

Katherine Pennington (b. 1953)

Otis Quaicoe (b. 1988)

J.L. Quenton (b. 1953)

Philemon Reid (1945-2008)

Bill Rutherford (b. 1937)

Isaka Shamsud-Din (b. 1940)

Arvie Smith (b. 1938)

Melanie Stevens (b. 1979)

Thelma Johnson Streat (1911-1959)

Kayin Talton-Davis (b. 1980)

Charles Tatum (1937-2008)

Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971)

Sharita Towne (b. 1984)

Thomas Unthank (b. 1936)

Maya Vivas (b. 1990)

Samantha Wall (b. 1977)

Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953)

Shedrich Williames (b. 1934)

Tammy Jo Wilson (b. 1974)

Mosley Wotta (b. 1983)

Eatcho (b. 1980)

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

1219 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR 97205

www.portlandartmuseum.org

16/11/23

Africa Fashion @ Portland Art Museum

Africa Fashion

Portland Art Museum

November 18, 2023 – February 18, 2024

Models holding hands, Lagos, Nigeria, 2019 by Stephen Tayo

Courtesy Lagos Fashion Week

Sanlé Sory 'Je Vais Décoller, 1977'

Self-portrait, Gouled Ahmed, Addis Foam, Ethiopia

Mbeuk Idourrou collection, Imane Ayissi, Paris

Autumn/Winter 2019.

Photo: Fabrice Malard / Courtesy of Imane Ayissi

Africa Fashion opens at the Portland Art Museum after acclaimed runs at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Brooklyn Museum. This first-of-its-kind exhibition, making its only West Coast stop at PAM, honors the irresistible creativity, ingenuity, and unstoppable global impact of contemporary African fashions. Garments and textiles dating from the mid-twentieth century to the present day, contextualized by a range of cultural touchstones such as Drum magazines, Fela Kuti and Miriam Makeba record albums, and studio photography from Sanlé Sory, celebrate the transformative and liberatory power of self-fashioning. The New Yorker’s art critic Hilton Als called Africa Fashion a “vital and necessary exhibition.”

The exuberance and cosmopolitan nature of the contemporary African fashion scene unfolds through more than 50 outfits designed by over 40 designers hailing from 21 countries, who are shifting the geography of the global fashion world. Elegant minimalist garments by Mmusomaxwell, Katush, and Moshions push back on stereotypes that African fashions are exclusively colorful and brightly patterned; knitwear by Maxhosa echoes traditional Xhosa beadwork patterns; shimmering silk and layers of raffia combine in a fuchsia pink couture outfit by Imane Ayissi; and striking ensembles by Selly Raby Kane and Bull Doff reference Afrofuturism.

“Africa Fashion means the past, the future and the present at the same time,” said fashion designer Artsi, founder of Moroccan design house Maison ArtC. “The joy of life and the joy of colour is completely different and very particular to the continent. It’s a language of heritage, it’s a language of DNA, it’s a language of memories.”

Design by Chris Seydou

Kofi Ansah 'Indigo' Couture 1997 - Narh & Linda

Alchemy collection, Thebe Magugu,

Johannesburg, South Africa, Autumn/Winter 2021

Photography: Tatenda Chidora

Styling + Set: Chloe Andrea Welgemoed

Model: Sio

Africa Fashion employs a cross-cultural and cross-continental approach throughout the exhibition galleries, centering multiple and varied African voices and perspectives. Starting with the African independence and the liberation years that sparked a radical political and social reordering across the continent, the exhibition explores how fashion, alongside music and the visual arts, formed a key part of Africa’s cultural renaissance, laying the foundation for today’s fashion revolution. A section on textiles presents vintage woven kente cloth alongside printed kanga cloths and Dutch Wax cottons, showing how the making and wearing of traditional textiles in the moment of independence became a strategic political act.

During this period, groundbreaking designers worked fluidly both on the continent and internationally. Garments included in the exhibition by vanguard creatives Alphadi (b.1957), Kofi Ansah (1951-2014), Naïma Bennis (1940-2008), Shade Thomas-Fahm (b.1933), and Chris Seydou (1949-1994), embody the artistic expression of the cultural renaissance.

“I feel like there’s so many facets of what we’ve been through as a continent that people don’t actually understand,” said South African designer Thebe Magugu. “Now more than ever, African designers are taking charge of their own narrative and telling people authentic stories, not the imagined utopias.”

'Chasing Evil' collection, IAMISIGO, Kenya,

Autumn/Winter 2020

Courtesy IAMISIGO

Photo: Maganga Mwagogo

DAKALA CLOTH ensemble,

'Who Knew' collection,

Abuja, Nigeria, Spring/Summer 2019

Image courtesy Nkwo Onwuka

The sophisticated fashions at the heart of Africa Fashion simultaneously celebrate long-held traditions of cultural self-expression through clothing and the significant contributions of contemporary designers of African descent to the international fashion scene.

Portland’s creative community also takes a turn on the catwalk for this presentation of Africa Fashion as well. Togo-born designer Komi Jean Pierre Nugloze of N’Kossi Couture is included in the exhibition, showcasing two of his contemporary designs. And Portland-based LEVER Architecture collaborated with the Museum on an innovative exhibition design, including a single organic display platform that welcomes visitors to admire the contemporary garments from all angles.

Africa Fashion is accompanied by a catalog published by V&A Publishing.

Africa Fashion - Exhibition book

Christine Checinska (Editor)

Published by V&A

224 pages

ISBN : 9781838510275

Curated by the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Christine Checinska, Ph.D., Senior Curator of African and Diaspora Textiles and Fashion, with Project Curator Elisabeth Murray; curated for Portland by Julia Dolan, Ph.D., The Minor White Senior Curator of Photography.

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

1219 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR 97205

www.portlandartmuseum.org