Wangechi Mutu is a catalogue accompanying a 2022 exhibition comprising large-scale bronzes, earthworks, and films by Wangechi Mutu at Storm King Art Center. Co-published by Storm King and X Artists' Books, this publication includes a foreword by John P. Stern, President of Storm King, an essay situating Mutu's sculptures within an art historical context by Storm King's Artistic Director and Chief Curator, Nora Lawrence, an artist's statement by Mutu, and an essay by contributing author, Aisha Tandiwe Bell. Installation photography of Mutu's works sited in Storm King's expansive landscape, and inside the Art Center's Museum Building, illustrate the publication. The book is designed by Omnivore in collaboration with the Wangechi Mutu Studio.
Wangechi Mutu's work deals with the very idea of human representation; how we perceive and reproduce images of what we think we are, how we view others and create images of what we think of them. In her ongoing conversations with figuration, what Mutu's work looks at are value systems that either obscure or elevate our image and reflections.
In her collage-paintings, sculptures, films and performance rituals, Mutu uses ink, soil, ash, bronze, driftwood, horn, pigments, wine, hair; ultimately keeping the figure as the focus, always seeking to find out more about who we are, what we mean to each other and why we recreate ourselves in Art. Mutu has participated in several major solo exhibitions in institutions worldwide, most recently Wangechi Mutu, The NewOnes, will free Us at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Wangechi Mutu: I Am Speaking, Are You Listening? at the Legion of Honor, San Francisco.
Nora Lawrence is the Artistic Director and Chief Curator of Storm King Art Center, where she has developed nearly 20 exhibitions. She also established Storm King's annual Outlooks program, which invites one artist per year to realize a temporary site-specific work, and co-founded the Shandaken: Storm King residency.
Inspired by the fragmentation of our multiple identities and the space between words, Aisha Tandiwe Bell's interdisciplinary practice is committed to creating myth & ritual through sculpture, performance, video, sound, poetry, drawing & installation. As a visual artist Bell has participated in artist residencies/fellowships at Skowhegan, LMCC's Swing/Workspace, The Laundromat Project, BRIC, Wassaic Projects, Interlude & DVCAI. She has exhibited at The Jamaica Biennial, The BRIC Biennial 2016, The Venice Biennial 2017, MoCADA, Welancora Gallery, and more. She was a spoken word artist with the group second2last for 10 years. Writing is a core component of her practice.
John P. Stern assumed his presidency of Storm King Art Center in 2010 following the legacy of his grandfather, Ralph E. Ogden, and father, H. Peter Stern, who together created the Art Center. Under Stern's leadership, the Art Center is committed to offering a superlative experience for a diverse audience; protecting its art, landscape, and people; and advancing its leadership in the field of art in nature.
