Artist Lorna Simpson, who is among the best-known representatives of contemporary African-American visual culture, and Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, join Darren Walker for a conversation on Simpson’s inspiring journey and moving work on the occasion of the publication of her newly-updated monograph, Lorna Simpson: Revised & Expanded Edition (Phaidon).
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
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Lorna Simpson: Revised & Expanded Edition is the most comprehensive and up-to-date monograph available on the work of celebrated artist Lorna Simpson, a trailblazer who continues to influence and inspire. Simpson is a multimedia artist known for her pioneering approach to conceptual photography. In 1993, she was the first African-American woman ever to show in the Venice Biennale and to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. This landmark book documents Simpson's career in its entirety, up to her most recent work, thoroughly revised and updated to include a new essay by Guggenheim Deputy Director Naomi Beckwith. Contributions also made by Thelma Golden, director of the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York. Chrissie Iles, a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and Kellie Jones, professor in Art History and Archaeology and the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University. Published by Phaidon.
Lorna Simpson came to prominence in the 1980s with her pioneering approach to conceptual photography. Simpson’s early work raised questions about the nature of representation, identity, gender, race and history that continue to drive the artist’s expanding and multi-disciplinary practice today. Over the past 30 years, Simpson has continued to probe these questions while expanding her practice to encompass various media including film and video, painting, drawing and sculpture. Her works have been exhibited at and are in the collections of many major museums internationally and she was awarded the J. Paul Getty Medal in 2019. Lorna Simpson is represented by Hauser & Wirth.
Naomi Beckwith is the Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. Previously, Beckwith served as the Associate Curator at The Studio Museum in Harlem and, most recently, as Manilow Senior Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Her numerous exhibitions include, "The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now” and "30 Seconds off an Inch,” both considering the resonance of Black culture across contemporary art internationally. Beckwith has contributed to numerous scholarly and periodical publications including Artforum International, Nka,Frieze, The New York Times and Ebony Magazine. Beckwith has held fellowships with the Whitney
Museum Independent Studies Program, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, VIA Art Fund, and Center for Curatorial Leadership and served on the jury of the 56th Venice Biennale. Beckwith is a trustee of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and The Laundromat Project in New York and serves on the advisory committee of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.
Darren Walker is president of the Ford Foundation, a $16 billion international social justice philanthropy. Under his leadership, the Ford Foundation became the first non-profit in US history to issue a $1 billion designated social bond to stabilize non-profit organizations in the wake of COVID-19. Before joining Ford, Darren was vice president at Rockefeller Foundation. Previously, he was COO of Harlem’s Abyssinian Development Corporation. Darren co-founded both the US Impact Investing Alliance and the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy. He serves on many boards, including the National Gallery of Art, Carnegie Hall, the High Line, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, and Committee to Protect Journalists.
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