The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is hosting a landmark exhibition called “Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage.” This is the first museum exhibition of its kind, devoted to examining modern collage as it reflects the breadth and complexity of Black identity and experiences in the United States.
The massive exhibition, sprawling across three floors in two buildings, showcases nearly 60 works by 49 intergenerational African American artists. Intended to explore diverse Black-constructed narratives through collage and collage-inspired works, the exhibition is on view from July 6 through September 22, 2024.
Multiplicity delves into themes of personal and collective history, regional and national heritage, gender and sexual orientation, and racial constructs, all expressed through the medium of collage. Artists unite fragments of paper, photos, fabric, and other salvaged or repurposed materials to create unified compositions that touch on human experiences, including fragmentation, reconstruction, shared history and memory, cultural hybridity, gender fluidity, and notions of beauty.
The aim of Multiplicity is not to portray African Americans as a monolithic group, but to illustrate the intersecting facets of individual life experiences through the medium of collage. The exhibit allows each artist’s work to contribute to a larger conversation about Blackness in contemporary America, and it promises to spark thoughtful discourse for current and future generations.
The exhibition begins with the section “Fragmentation and Reconstruction,” followed by “Excavating History and Memory,” “Cultural Hybridity,” “Notions of Beauty and Power,” “Gender Fluidity and Queer Spaces,” and concludes with the section “Toward Abstraction.” Moreover, interviews with 11 featured artists present an in-depth look into their unique techniques.
With Multiplicity, The Phillips Collection continues its tradition of exhibiting contemporary artists, contributing to the growing understanding and appreciation of Black identity. Drawing on techniques from European and American traditions as well as the rich legacy of African American artists, the exhibition is an opportunity to highlight the formal complexity and vibrancy of collage as an art form.
“Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage” invites us to engage in a vital dialogue about Black identity and experience through the compelling and multifaceted lens of contemporary collage. Don’t miss this groundbreaking exhibition at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.