Ming Smith: Wind Chime
This solo exhibition of Columbus-raised, New York-based artist Ming Smith, features her first photographic series alongside a new body of work. The exhibition illuminates Smith’s introspective perspective that focuses on spirituality, movement, and feminism. The centerpiece is a multimedia commission that animates a series of photographs, integrating film and dance, while marking an entirely new direction in her practice. Also on view are recent collages and color photographs—all set within an ambient soundscape by her son, Mingus Murray—that continue her interest in Black transcendence. In an adjacent gallery is an installation of Smith’s Africa series, which premieres nearly 30 black-and-white photographs taken during her travels to Senegal, Ethiopia, the Ivory Coast, and Egypt over three decades. The series began in 1972, when Smith traveled to Dakar on a modeling assignment, her first visit to the African continent. The expansive series documents everyday scenes from across the continent and shares a narrative of Africa from her perspective as a Black woman. As Smith has stated, “I was affected by the spirituality of the people. Somehow it seemed that our cultures are very different, but we are very much connected.”
This exhibition is part of a simultaneous presentation of work by Ming Smith, also at the Columbus Museum of Art and The Gund at Kenyon College.
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Ming Smith, Dakar Roadside with Figures, 1972. Archival pigment print, 24 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Ming Smith Studio
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Ming Smith, Womb, 1992. Archival pigment print, 24 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Ming Smith Studio
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Ming Smith, Prelude to Middle Passage, 1972. Archival pigment print, 36 x 24 inches. Courtesy of Ming Smith Studio
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Ming Smith, Masque, 1992. Archival pigment print, 36 x 24 inches. Courtesy of Ming Smith Studio
Venue Details
Wexner Center for the Arts
1871 N High St
Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 292-3535
Tue, Wed & Fri 10am–6pm, Thur 10am–8pm, Sat & Sun 10am–5pm
Exhibitions are free to the public, screenings excluded
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