This spring and summer, top New York museums are showcasing remarkable exhibitions featuring major African American artists, many of which will remain on view through fall 2025.
These solo exhibitions include an unprecedented survey of Rashid Johnson at the Guggenheim Museum, Amy Sherald at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Jack Whitten at the Museum of Modern Art.
In addition, The Drawing Center is presenting its first museum show entirely dedicated to Beauford Delaney’s drawings.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Museum is hosting the inaugural museum exhibition of the under-recognized sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet.
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, several must-see presentations are currently displayed throughout the institution.
The recently renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing is now open, featuring The Met’s collected works of Arts from Africa, Ancient Americas, and Oceania.
Current exhibitions also include paintings by Lorna Simpson, a roof garden installation by Jennie C. Jones, and the anticipated “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at the Costume Institute, which explores Black dandyism and highlights Black designers, inspired by the recent Met Gala.
From Brooklyn to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, these exhibitions encompass a variety of artistic styles including painting, drawing, sculpture, and fashion.
The exhibitions listed below are presented in chronological order, starting with the most recent openings.
At The Drawing Center, the exhibition titled “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney” is on view from May 30 to September 14, 2025.
Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) was a significant figure in the art world, known for his extensive range of drawings from the early 1920s to the early 1970s.
Rather than serving as mere sketches for paintings, these drawings were independent works.
Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Delaney studied art in Boston and subsequently moved to New York in 1929 during the height of the Harlem Renaissance era.
In 1953, he relocated to Paris at the suggestion of his friend James Baldwin, with whom he often collaborated, and spent the rest of his life there, creating portraits and evolving into a style marked by an all-over form of abstraction.
The upcoming exhibition offers more than 90 works, consisting of pieces on paper, canvas, and archival materials.
This exhibition marks the first significant museum exhibition dedicated to Delaney in New York in 30 years, with a particular focus on his drawings, which have previously received little scholarly attention.
Another highlight is “Lorna Simpson: Source Notes” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which runs from May 19 to November 2, 2025.
Renowned for her conceptual photography, Lorna Simpson (b. 1960) shifted her practice a decade ago to large-scale paintings inspired by archives from vintage Ebony and Jet magazines.
Her works, which blend figuration and abstraction, delve into the complexities of identity and representation.
This exhibition represents the first comprehensive overview of Simpson’s painting career, featuring more than 30 of her significant works.
Additionally, the Costume Institute at The Met will host “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” from May 10 to October 26, 2025.
This much-anticipated exhibition interprets the concept of dandyism as both a visual aesthetic and a social strategy that opens new political possibilities.
It showcases a range of Black designers and includes garments, accessories, as well as historical and contemporary works of art, photographs, and decorative pieces spanning the 18th century to the present.
Notably, this exhibition represents the first exploration of Black style in the history of the Costume Institute.
At the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, “Collection in Focus | The Reach of Faith Ringgold” will run from May 9 to September 14, 2025.
For the first time since its acquisition in 1988, the museum will showcase Faith Ringgold’s iconic quilt, “Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach,” which visually narrates the story of Cassie Louise Lightfoot, a young girl whose imagination takes flight as she escapes to the city’s skyline.
This quilt will be shown alongside other influential works that precede Ringgold, such as those by Marc Chagall, Jacob Lawrence, and Pablo Picasso, as well as pieces by contemporary artists she has inspired, including Sanford Biggers and Carrie Mae Weems.
At MoMA PS1, Angolan artist Sandra Poulson’s exhibition titled “Este quarto parece uma República! [This Bedroom Looks Like a Republic!]” will be on view from April 24 to October 6, 2025.
This marks the first museum exhibition for Poulson (b. 1995), highlighting eight sculptures created in 2024 that combine various furniture materials, including a headboard featuring the European Union logo and Dutch furniture crafted from sustainable tropical wood.
Poulson’s works reflect an archaeological approach to Angolan identity, addressing themes of nation-building and cultural history through domestic objects.
Rashid Johnson’s comprehensive survey, titled “A Poem for Deep Thinkers,” will be showcased at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from April 18, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
This major mid-career retrospective includes nearly 90 works created over Johnson’s 30 years of practice, displaying a wide range of mediums.
Highlights include early photographic portraits, glazed stoneware sculptures, videos, mosaic and collage paintings, and a monumental installation titled “Sanguine,” which features a black steel structure containing plants, shea butter, books, and a piano for interactive performances.
The exhibition will later travel to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
Another exciting installation is “The Roof Garden Commission: Jennie C. Jones, Ensemble,” which will be displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from April 15 to October 19, 2025.
This rooftop display features large-scale sculptures inspired by musical instruments, including a trapezoidal zither and a tall Aeolian harp, skillfully crafted to resonate with the wind and the environment of the iconic New York skyline.
At the Museum of Arts and Design, Saya Woolfalk’s “Empathic Universe” exhibition will be on view from April 12 to September 7, 2025.
This retrospective spans two decades of Woolfalk’s work, characterized by a focus on storytelling and the exploration of multicultural influences through a lens of science fiction, feminism, and craft.
The exhibited works include installations and sculptures that reflect her artistic journey and conceptual universe centered on the character of “Empathics.”
Amy Sherald’s major survey, “American Sublime,” is currently displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art from April 9 to August 10, 2025.
Sherald (b. 1973) is celebrated for her engaging and poetic portraits of ordinary individuals, and she is widely recognized for her portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
This exhibition features around 50 paintings from 2007 onward, including several of her most notable works and a posthumous tribute to Breonna Taylor, merging social themes with striking visual narratives.
The exhibition will subsequently travel to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., opening in September of this year.
Finally, “Jack Whitten: The Messenger” will be showcased at the Museum of Modern Art from March 23 to August 2, 2025.
This exhibition marks the first full retrospective of the work of Jack Whitten (1939-2018), focusing on his innovative abstract practice over six decades.
His works explore profound themes related to personal and collective history, particularly reflecting on his experience growing up during segregation and the Civil Rights Movement.
Included in this exhibition are over 175 artworks, featuring a mix of paintings, sculptures, and drawings.
Additionally, the Brooklyn Museum will host “Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch” from March 14 to July 13, 2025.
This first museum exhibition of sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, who passed away in 1960, unveils the life and legacy of the Afro-Indigenous artist’s work, showcasing 20 selected pieces and a documentary film exploring her impact and contributions.
With these compelling exhibitions, New York’s museums are set to provide an enriching experience that amplifies the voices and contributions of African American artists, allowing audiences to engage deeply with their art and narratives.
As these exhibitions open, they showcase vital aspects of cultural history and artistic expression, creating opportunities for conversation and reflection in the contemporary art landscape.
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