TAMPA, FLA.- The Tampa Museum of Art announced its fall exhibition series Ordinary/Extraordinary: Assemblage in Three Acts. Of the exhibitions, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Joanna Robotham stated, “We are thrilled to present this robust, diverse schedule of exhibitions. The series features three exhibitions and I am delighted to share with our visitors works of art from private collections, including two important Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings, one of the largest collections of Haitian Vodou flags, as well as the Museum’s Purvis Young holdings. Basquiat’s Yellow Door (1985) and Untitled (Word on Wood) (1985) are significant examples of the artist’s abstract portraiture and his expressive use of language and symbols. Sacred Diagrams: Haitian Vodou Flags from the Gessen Collection highlights the tradition and evolution of Vodou flags, an art form unique to Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. In the exhibition Purvis Young: 91, viewers will see the artist’s profound visual vocabulary reflective of the beauty and struggles of life in Overtown, a neighborhood in Miami.

The series Ordinary/Extraordinary: Assemblage in Three Acts presents three discrete exhibitions focused on works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Purvis Young, and a selection of 20th- and 21st-century Haitian Vodou flags. The use of found objects, such as discarded wood and textiles, links the exhibitions together. Moreover, historical and socio-economic narratives informed by the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora, the Black experience in America, as well as European artistic influences, unite the artists featured in the series. Although each is a stand-alone show, viewed together, the series explores provocative portrayals of race, identity, spirituality, survival, and hope in a range of assemblage objects and compositions.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: One Master Artist /Two Masterpieces
On view through November 10, 2019
Jean-Michel Basquiat: One Master Artist / Two Masterpieces focuses on two unique Basquiat artworks: Yellow Door (1985) and Untitled (Word on Wood) (1985). The exhibition will examine the artist’s visual vocabulary in an intimate presentation of these two important paintings. Jean-Michel Basquiat: One Master Artist / Two Masterpieces explores the artist’s use of found materials, text, and portraiture as a means to explore socio-political themes and self-identity. Related materials further address how Basquiat’s art signified new directions in abstract figuration and 20th-century painting. This show is part of the fall exhibition series Ordinary/Extraordinary: Assemblage in Three Acts.

Sacred Diagrams: Haitian Vodou Flags from the Gessen Collection
On view through January 26, 2020
Sacred Diagrams: Haitian Vodou Flags from the Gessen Collection examines the tradition and artistic significance of Haitian Vodou flags. The flags, created from repurposed fabric, beads, and sequins, represent Haiti’s spiritually rich and dynamic visual culture. Guest curator and artist Edouard Duval-Carrié (Haitian, b. 1954) examines the role of Vodou flags and flag makers within Haiti’s art communities. Sacred Diagrams highlights vintage ceremonial flags from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as presents recent interpretations of Vodou flags by a select group of artists. Sacred Diagrams is part of the fall exhibition series Ordinary/Extraordinary: Assemblage in Three Acts.

Purvis Young: 91
On view through January 26, 2020
Purvis Young: 91 presents, for the first time, the depth of the Purvis Young (American, 1943-2010) holdings in the Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection. In 2004, the Rubell Family Foundation gifted 91 works by Young to the Museum, one of the largest donations of the artist’s work in the Southeast. Young, a self-taught artist, created thousands of assemblages with imagery of protesters, pregnant women, and warriors on wood remnants, cabinets, and doors. The artworks reflect Young’s experiences and observations living in Overtown, Miami. Purvis Young: 91 is part of the fall exhibition series Ordinary/Extraordinary: Assemblage in Three Acts.