News

by Alex Greenberger

In February, nine curators received handwritten letters from the artist Betye Saar, who tomorrow turns 99. A legendary artist known for her assemblages attesting to histories of racism and survival in the face of it, Saar thanked the curators for their engagement with her work, then asked if they would help her look forward by helping create a “resource for future generations—curators, researchers, writers, and art historians—helping them connect with the heart of my practice.”

A newly established curatorial group—initiated by Betye Saar in collaboration with Roberts Projects—will serve as a scholarly committee dedicated to preserving, interpreting and advancing Saar’s profound artistic legacy. Working closely with the artist, her studio and her longtime gallery, the Betye Saar Legacy Group will provide expert guidance on Saar’s decades-long practice and her impact on contemporary art history.

The Wooyang Art Museum is proud to present I Have Been Here Before, the first institutional solo exhibition in Asia by Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo. Through a selection of recent and iconic paintings across four thematic spaces, the exhibition invites viewers to explore the nuances of identity, visibility, and self-representation through a body of work that is both deeply personal and powerfully resonant. For this landmark occasion, Boafo unveils a series of new works presented within a site-specific structure designed by Glenn DeRoche of inspired by Korea’s traditional hanok courtyards. 

Born in Guyana, Suchitra Mattai descends from Indian indentured servants who Britain forcibly relocated to the Caribbean in the nineteenth century. Using colorful South Asian saris, Mattai explores stories of migration and the search for identity that diasporic communities often experience. Her site-specific installation in the Riley CAP Gallery takes inspiration from Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls, one of the largest single-drop waterfalls in the world. The exhibition features hundreds of braided saris that encircle a pool of glass shards Mattai gathered following a break-in at her former studio. Mattai believes that her repurposed materials hold mysteries tied to their origins and cultural applications.