Hard Art at MoMA PS1 examines the legacy and evolving possibilities of abstraction by Black artists in the United States, tracing its development from 1969 to the present. Bringing together more than 40 artists across three generations, the exhibition places historic works by figures such as Frank Bowling, Ed Clark, Melvin Edwards, and Barbara Chase-Riboud in conversation with contemporary practices that expand abstraction through painting, sculpture, video, and sound.
Among the artists featured is Lorraine O’Grady, who will present Landscape (Western Hemisphere) (2010–11), an 18-minute single-channel video in which close-up footage of her hair, blown by fans, appears as a shifting, abstract landscape. Accompanied by sounds of birds, insects, wind, and urban environments, the work uses hair as a metaphor for the hybridity of the Western Hemisphere, reflecting on race, cultural mixing, colonial history, and the Black female body.
Curated by Connie Butler with Sheldon Gooch, Hard Art emphasizes abstraction as a space for both formal experimentation and political imagination, connecting different generations of Black artists and their approaches to the medium.
Exhibition dates: November 5, 2026–March 8, 2027
