Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963 - 2017
From April 22, 2018 — July 29, 2018
The BMA is proud to honor Jack Whitten, one of the most important artists of his generation, with this exhibition of his carved and assembled sculptures inspired by the materials and traditions of Africa and ancient Greece. For the first time ever, these revelatory works will be on view in Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 1963–2017, organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This ticketed exhibition features 40 sculptures carved from a diverse spectrum of materials— including wood, marble, copper, bone, and personal mementos—contextualized with African, Minoan, and Cycladic sculptures and other examples of objects that inspired Whitten across the years. A gallery dedicated to Whitten’s Black Monoliths, a series of paintings honoring African American figures, reveals the connection between Whitten’s paintings and his previously unknown sculptures, and marks the first time these works have been exhibited together.
BMA Members enjoy free admission to this exhibition.
Join or renew to reserve your free tickets.
Pay What You Want Wednesdays
You set the admission price on Wednesdays! Reserve Odyssey tickets in-person at the BMA Office the day-of your Wednesday visit in order to take advantage of Pay What You Want Wednesdays.
Catalogue
Odyssey is accompanied by a full-color catalogue that features the sculptures made by Whitten over the past 50 years, as well as the Black Monolith series of paintings, and archival photographs. The catalogue includes essays by Katy Siegel, BMA Senior Programming and Research Curator and Thaw Chair in Modern American Art at Stony Brook University, and Kelly Baum, Cynthia Hazen Polsky, and Leon Polsky Curator of Contemporary Art at The Met. Available for purchase at the BMA Shop, or order online at shop.artbma.org.
Organized by:
This exhibition is organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sponsored by:
This exhibition is generously sponsored by The Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation, Suzanne F. Cohen, Anonymous, Heidi and Brian Berghuis, Amy L. Gould and Matthew S. Polk, Jr., Agnes Gund, Transamerica, Guy and Nupur Parekh Flynn, LaVerna Hahn Charitable Trust, Nancy Dorman and Stan Mazaroff, Amy and Marc Meadows, Clair Zamoiski Segal, Dorothy Wagner Wallis Charitable Trust, Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown, Eileen Harris Norton Foundation, Ilene and Michael Salcman, Bank of America, and Hauser & Wirth.
The BMA is proud to honor
Jack Whitten (1939-2018), one of the
most important artists of his
generation, with this exhibition
of his carved and assembled
sculptures inspired by the
materials and traditions of
Africa and ancient Greece.
Jack Whitten. The Afro American Thunderbolt. 1983-84. Courtesy of the artist’s estate and Hauser & Wirth. Photography by Genevieve Hanson, NYC