Kenya-born artist exhibits fantastical works at MOCA

Wangechi Mutu has come to be regarded as one of the most inventive and critically-engaged artists of her generation.

Combining materials and imagery from sources as diverse as African traditions, international politics, the high fashion industry and science fiction, Mutu creates works that depict places for profound exploration of race, gender and power. Her work is an investigation of issues ranging from colonialism to displacement, ritual, perceptions of Africa and the female form.

View Mutu’s work at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, starting April 18 until July 6. Featuring large-scale and site-specific installations, collage and video, Mutu’s exhibit is the first museum survey dedicated to an African-born, US-based artist at MOCA. Mutu earned her MFA from Yale University in 2000.

An opening reception at the museum from 7- 9 p.m., April 17 launches “Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey.” The next day, April 18 at 7 p.m., join the artist for Art Talk with Wangechi Mutu and Trevor Schoonmaker, the exhibit’s curator.

The exhibition includes more than 50 works from the mid-1990s to the present, including a mural and a black box theater projection of Mutu’s newest video.
“Placing centrality on the female form, Wangechi Mutu’s provocative body of work imagines hybrid creatures and surreal landscapes that comment on commercialism, globa- lization and cultural norms,” said Alex Gartenfeld, MOCA interim director and chief curator. “We are thrilled to be presenting the first solo museum exhibition dedicated to her work.”

“Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey” incorporates all aspects of Mutu’s prolific practice, which includes collage, drawing, installation, sculpture, performance and video. To display her work, MOCA galleries will transform into a forest-like environment populated by the installation of large-scale felt trees.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is located at 770 NE 125th St., North Miami. Museum hours are: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Wednesday, 1–9 p.m.; Sunday noon–5 p.m. Galleries also open 7–10 p.m. on the last Friday of each month during Jazz at MOCA. Admission is free for MOCA members, North Miami residents, employees and children under 12; $5 adults and $3 for students with ID.

For other information, call 305-893-6211 or visit mocanomi.org