The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) will open two companion exhibitions, “Revelation: A Journey into Abstraction” and “Reset: Abstraction Embodied in Design,” in The Rhimes Family Foundation Visual Arts Gallery. Together, the exhibitions explore how abstraction has shaped African American artistic expression across painting, sculpture, printmaking, furniture, textiles, and lighting. The range of media encourages audiences to consider how abstraction shapes their own environments and emotional experiences. Visit https://nmaahc.si.edu/reset and https://nmaahc.si.edu/revelation for more information.
“Abstraction has long been a powerful tool for African American artists to express memory, resistance and imagination beyond constraint,” said Shanita Brackett, acting director of NMAAHC. These exhibitions show how that language continues to evolve across canvas, clay and contemporary design.”
“Revelation” explores the profound range and depth of abstract art created by African American artists from the mid‑20th century to the present. The exhibition features 41 works by 38 artists from the museum’s permanent collection, highlighting abstraction as a language of cultural memory, protest, identity, and transformation. Organized into five thematic sections: The Natural World Refracted, The Shape of Sound, Colored Surfaces, Dreams Deferred and Transcendent Visions, the exhibition reintroduces key works and debuts new acquisitions that expand established narratives of American abstraction.
Artists represented in the exhibition include Theaster Gates, Sam Gilliam, Simone Leigh, Julie Mehretu, Gordon Parks, Howardena Pindell, Alma Thomas, and many others. A musical soundtrack curated by participating artists will play throughout the galleries.
As a companion exhibition, “Reset” shifts the focus from canvas to the body, presenting abstract design objects—chairs, rugs, and lighting—that transform everyday space into sites of reflection and renewal. The exhibition explores themes such as African diasporic influences on modern design, emotional engagement with materials, and the ways in which functional objects can offer respite, grounding, or transformation. Works by Ini Archibong, Simone Brewster, Mark Grattan, Little Wing Lee, Naudline Pierre, Michael Puryear, Peter L. Robinson Jr., Norman Teague, Jomo Tariku, Folayemi Wilson and Hadiya Williams illuminate the breadth of abstraction in contemporary art and design. Custom visitor benches designed in consultation with Cheryl R. Riley, an artist and furniture designer, provide restful spaces for reflection.
A fully illustrated catalog, “Revelation: A Journey into Abstraction,” published by Rizzoli Electa, reveals the profound range and depth of abstract art created by African American artists, from the 20th century to the present day. The companion book is now available for purchase in the NMAAHC store and online.
The “Revelation” exhibition was made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art, NMAAHC’s Advisory Council and its Corporate Leadership Council with additional support from the Sunny Morning Fund.
About the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Since opening Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has welcomed more than 13 million in-person visitors and millions more through its digital presence. Occupying a prominent location next to the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the nearly 400,000-square-foot museum is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. The museum has also launched and continues to expand its reach through the Searchable Museum portal and other efforts to bring African American history into the world’s hands and homes. For more information about the museum, visit nmaahc.si.edu, follow @NMAAHC on X, Facebook, and Instagram, or call the Smithsonian Information at (202) 633-1000.
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