Kevin Beasley, Untitled (hollow)
by :
Brooke Leboeuf
Kevin Beasley (American, born 1985). Untitled (hollow), 2016. Resin, housedresses, and kaftans. Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
Ethereal, haunting, and commanding are a few of the words that come to mind as you walk into the gallery space where Kevin Beasley’s work Untitled (hollow) (2016) resides. Invisible, spectral forms seem to rise up out of the floor, evident only because of the vibrant, patterned fabrics that shroud them. The fabrics used by the artist are housedresses and kaftans, coated in resin and draped over supports constructed from microphone stands, resulting in a group of otherworldly figures that radiate strength and force, despite the delicate material and hollow interiors.
Untitled (hollow) was conceived after the artist found a housedress on the streets of New York City, reminding him of those worn by African American women in his family and community. Much of Beasley’s artmaking practice uses found objects and items of clothing, such as housedresses, hoodies, and do-rags, to explore black cultural identities. When taken out of context, and without a specific person or face to inhabit them, these articles of clothing become limitless vessels, where cultural identity grapples with stereotype, where traumas of race coexist with triumphs of equality, and where past meets present, as evidenced in the sage-like presence of Beasley’s forms.
Beasley’s ability to breathe not just life but the wisdom of generations into inanimate objects gives them a second coming, as history, ancestry, and community play a vital role in his work. With its ghostly figures, Untitled (hollow) represents the mothers, aunts, sisters, and daughters of the larger African diaspora; the sculpture acts as a reminder of the strength and determination that unites their families and communities from generation to generation. The very notion of community then is expanded to include those that came before, as their presence is still resonant and still transformational even in their absence.
Because of these themes, Beasley’s work is a fitting addition to We the People: New Art from the Collection at the Albright-Knox, an exhibition showcasing an in-depth exploration of cultural identities by artists working today.
Brooke Leboeuf is an arts writer, private art collection consultant, and an ardent supporter of Buffalo’s thriving arts scene.
Image: Kevin Beasley, Untitled (hollow), 2016. Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
We The People: New Art from the Collection
October 23, 2018 – July 21, 2019
Albright Knox Art Gallery
1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo NY 14222
