“My works are abstracted reflections of used bodies—visual images that serve my aesthetic decisions as well as my ideas.” —Senga Nengudi

Twisted, knotted, and stretched pantyhose weighted with sand sag onto the floor in Head Back & High: Senga Nengudi, the latest exhibition in the gallery adjacent to the East Lobby. Senga Nengudi (American, b. 1943) chooses familiar, inexpensive materials loaded with symbolic resonances to construct intimate environments. Interacting with the installation and observing the works, performers and audiences are invited to consider how they move through the world and the factors that influence their distinct experiences. The installation features performance photography and a video documenting more than 40 years of collaborative performances with artist Maren Hassinger, who will be the subject of a BMA exhibition opening in summer 2018. Nengudi’s work explores themes that range from claiming public space for creative action to examining the dynamics of intimate relationships.

Head Back & High: Senga Nengudi, Performance Objects (1976–2015) is curated by BMA Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director Christopher Bedford and Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art Cecilia Wichmann.

The exhibition is co-organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art and Art + Practice.