The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp
November 18, 2017–February 25, 2018
In honor of Trevor Schoonmaker, Chief Curator and Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and Artistic Director of Prospect.4, the Nasher Museum invites you to join Prospect New Orleans for the fourth edition of the acclaimed international contemporary art triennial Prospect.4 The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp. Prospect.4 will open in New Orleans on Saturday, November 18, 2017, and run through February 25, 2018, aligning with the city’s Tricentennial celebration.
Prospect.4 will include the work of 73 artists from 25 countries, integrated across more than 17 locations throughout the city. Among the many highlights of Prospect.4 is a special tribute to the late artist Barkley L. Hendricks, showcasing a large selection of his masterful portraits that are largely unknown, borrowed from private collections. The works will be exhibited for the first time at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
To coincide with Prospect.4, the Nasher Museum has co-commissioned a new multi-channel video installation, Precarity (working title), by acclaimed British filmmaker John Akomfrah, 2017 winner of the UK’s Artes Mundi Prize. Following Prospect.4, the work will be presented at the Nasher Museum, March 29 to September 2, 2018.
“New Orleans is a magical place, like no other city in the world. It is distinctly southern as an American city, but it’s also the most European and the most African city in the United States,” Schoonmaker said. “You can see and feel that synthesis in its customs, food, music and architecture. Just being there is such a visceral experience and its rich history and culture has provided boundless inspiration for the artists in Prospect.4.”
The Nasher Museum has connections with 18 of the Prospect.4 artists; many of them have work in the museum’s collection or work that was part of original exhibitions. Some have been artists in residence or presented public talks at the Nasher Museum.
Prospect.4 artists (with Nasher Museum-affiliated artists in bold): Larry Achiampong, Derrick Adams, Abbas Akhavan, John Akomfrah, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Michael Armitage, Louis Armstrong, Kader Attia, Radcliffe Bailey, Rina Banerjee, Rebecca Belmore, Maria Berrio, Sonia Boyce, Katherine Bradford, Margarita Cabrera, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Andrea Chung, Edgar Cleijne & Ellen Gallagher, Donna Conlon & Jonathan Harker, Minerva Cuevas, Wilson Díaz, Mark Dion, Alexis Esquivel, Genevieve Gaignard, Gauri Gill & Rajesh Vangad, Tony Gleaton, Jon-Sesrie Goff, Wayne Gonzales, Barkley L. Hendricks, Satch Hoyt, Evan Ifekoya, Alfredo Jaar, Rashid Johnson, Kahlil Joseph, Patricia Kaersenhout, Brad Kahlhamer, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Taiyo Kimura, The Kitchen Sisters with Otabenga Jones & Associates, Runo Lagomarsino, Pedro Lasch, Maider López, Jillian Mayer, Darryl Montana, Dave Muller, Lavar Munroe, Paulo Nazareth, Rivane Neuenschwander, Jennifer Odem, Odili Donald Odita, Yoko Ono, Horace Ové, Zak Ové, Dawit L. Petros, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Dario Robleto, Tita Salina, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Zina Saro-Wiwa, John T. Scott, Zineb Sedira, Xaviera Simmons, Penny Siopis, Cauleen Smith, Hank Willis Thomas, Hong-An Truong, Naama Tsabar, Michel Varisco, Monique Verdin, Kara Walker, James Webb, Jeff Whetstone, Peter Williams.
About the Nasher Museum
The Nasher Museum has entered its second decade as a major center for the arts on Duke University’s campus and in the surrounding Research Triangle area. The museum organizes and presents leading-edge exhibitions that travel to institutions worldwide, most recently Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush and Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art. The growing collection includes some of today’s most important contemporary art, with a focus on work by artists of African descent. Other major strengths include European medieval art, European and American paintings, Outsider art, classical antiquities, African art and ancient American art. More than 1 million people have visited the museum since it opened in 2005. For more information, visit www.nasher.duke.edu.
