Transcendence: A Century of Black Queer Ecstasy, 1924‑2024

The word ecstasy can be understood as a form of transcendence, often through an indiscriminate combination of extremes. Art’s truest depictions of ecstasy exist in the muddled territory between exaltation and despair. Transcendence: A Century of Black Queer Ecstasy, through a variety of media, highlights visual representations of Black queer ecstasy from the last 100 years that surpass its absence from the historical record. Centering Blackness and queerness allows this exhibition to consider the potential of queer perspectives around the paradoxes of pleasure and pain, excess and lack, and autonomy and dependence. As such, the exhibition is organized around seven themes: Portraiture, Beyond Figuration, Dance and Movement, Spirituality, Sex and Sensuality, Black Queer Futures, and Altered States. Together these themes represent the foundations of queer, and especially Black queer, experiences and offer viewers a space to engage with artwork and ephemera that highlight an ecstatically abundant past and advocate for a more inclusive and equitable future.

Many works in the exhibition are by artists who identify as queer; some are by artists who lived in times when such identification was not available or possible; and some are by artists who are not queer but whose works resonate with queer histories. By uniting these and other artists from across generations, Transcendence: A Century of Black Queer Ecstasy positions ecstasy and transcendence as central themes within the ongoing evolution of Black and queer artistic expression. Ultimately, this exhibition honors the resilience and beauty found within the Black queer community, testifying to the transformative nature of art.