In this lecture Torkwase Dyson will present her working theory, Black Compositional Thought, and the experimental drawing conditions that fuel her practice. She will also discuss the development of abstraction and perception and how they open up questions of space and spaciousness. The lecture will conclude with a presentation of a new body of poems and collages.
Torkwase Dyson (b. 1973, Chicago, Illinois) describes herself as a painter working across multiple mediums to explore the continuity between ecology, infrastructure, and architecture. Examining the history and future of black spatial liberation strategies, Dyson’s abstract works grapple with the ways in which space is perceived and negotiated, particularly by black and brown bodies. In 2021, a solo exhibition of Dyson’s work was on view at Hall Art Foundation, Schloss Derneburg, Germany, and her work was also presented at the 13th Shanghai Biennale.
In addition to participating in group exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; California African American Museum, Los Angeles, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus; The Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippi; Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland; and Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York, Dyson has had solo exhibitions and installations at Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine; Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago; Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia; and Suzanne Lemberg Usdan Gallery, Bennington College, Vermon; and Serpentine Pavilion, Serpentine Galleries, London.
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.