NOMA presents the most complete survey of Wangechi Mutu’s work to date

From January 31 to July 14, 2024, the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) presents “Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined”

Source: New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) · Image: Wangechi Mutu, “Lizard Love”, 2006. Mixed media, ink, spray paint, and collage on Mylar. 25 × 21 1/2 in (63.5 × 54.6 cm) 28 1/4 × 24 1/4 in (71.8 × 61.6 cm) framed. Courtesy the artist, Gladstone Gallery, and Victoria Miro Gallery.

The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) presents a major solo exhibition of work by Wangechi Mutu, bringing together nearly one hundred sculptures, paintings, collages, drawings, and films to present the breadth of the Kenyan–American artist’s multidisciplinary practice from the mid-1990s to today. On view January 31–July 14, 2024, Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined traces connections between recent developments in Mutu’s sculptures and her decades-long exploration of the legacies of colonialism, globalization, and African and diasporic cultural traditions. The exhibition travels to NOMA from the New Museum, New York.

NOMA’s presentation of the exhibition is unique in connecting Mutu’s work inside the museum’s galleries with two sculptures by the artist permanently sited in NOMA’s Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden: The Seated III, 2019, one of four sculptures originally created by Mutu for niches on the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Crocodylus, 2020, an otherworldly femme-reptilian hybrid figure that signals Black feminine power and sovereignty. 

“The New Orleans Museum of Art has championed Mutu’s work and we are particularly excited to bring together Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined with the holdings in our collection—literally and metaphorically offering new perspectives on the evolution of her practice and her work today,” said Susan Taylor, The Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of NOMA. “At NOMA, visitors will experience her pieces in this dynamic context as well as in dialogue with our exceptional permanent collection. We look forward to giving our visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in Mutu’s oeuvre.”

“Wangechi Mutu’s work is stunningly prescient, offering insightful contemplations of the past, present, and future of a society dominated by globalization, colonialism, and interconnectedness,” said Lisa Rotondo-McCord, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at NOMA. “Mutu is one of the most celebrated artists of her generation and this exhibition at NOMA offers multiple vantage points to explore Mutu’s complex body of work.”