Vision & Spirit: African American Art | Works From The Bank Of America Collection

Curated by Dexter Wimberly

Vision & Spirit is an exhibition composed of more than 100 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, and mixed media works by 48 artists born in the 19th and 20th centuries. Highlighting key aspects of their lives, as well as the important objects they created, the exhibition focuses on these artists’ strength and resilience as creative forces whose work continues to shape our understanding of the world.

In selecting work for the exhibition, guest curator Dexter Wimberly sought images and concepts that embody the exhibition’s central theme of resilience. Throughout this process he continually reflected on the social and political times in which the works of art were created. The breadth of work in the exhibition includes portraits of unknown and well-known individuals, including influential figures such as Muhammad Ali, John and Alice Coltrane, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It also includes photographs taken during the Harlem Renaissance and The Civil Rights Movement, as well as intimate and quiet moments in early to mid-Century and contemporary Black life.

Seeking to balance the presentation of figuration and abstraction, Vision & Spirit also includes the work of several emerging or lesser-known contemporary African American artists to explore the idea that all art exists on a continuum, and that art being made today is both historically and psychologically influenced by art made in the past. Vision & Spirit offers us a cross-generational conversation and opens the door for greater discussions about the past, present and future of African Americans.

Essay From The Curator

Click/tap here to read an essay from curator Dexter Wimberly about this exhibition's inspiration.

Dexter Wimberly is an independent curator and entrepreneur who has organized exhibitions and developed programs with galleries and institutions throughout the world including The Third Line in Dubai; Contemporary Art Museum CAM Raleigh in North Carolina; The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco; Koki Arts in Tokyo; and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. His exhibitions have been reviewed and featured in publications including The New York Times, Artforum, and Hyperallergic; and have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Wimberly has also served as Director of Strategic Planning at Independent Curators International in New York City.

Prior to his curatorial career, Wimberly was the managing partner and CEO of the advertising agency, August Bishop, representing a diverse array of clients, including Adidas, The Coca-Cola Company and, HBO. Wimberly is a Senior Critic at New York Academy of Art. He is also the founder of ART WORLD CONFERENCE, a business and financial literacy conference for visual artists. He and ART WORLD CONFERENCE co-organizer, Heather Bhandari were recently listed in the Observer's "Arts Power 50: Changemakers Shaping the Art World in 2019.”

New works were acquired for the exhibition from these artists:

Download the companion Family Discussion & Activity Guide here for Vision & Spirit.