Soothe

CURATOR STATEMENT
Ultimately, we are still here, presenting a show
that now feels imperfect and incomplete,
and should have felt that way all along. We did
not want to extend last-minute invitations to
Black artists to disingenuously diversify our roster.
We need concerted strategies for long-term
change, not insincerity and tokenism to fulfill a PR
need during a hot news cycle.
Annie Albers was a Jewish artist of German
descent who left Germany with her husband during
World War II to flee Nazi occupation. In an uncertain
world, Anni Albers found comfort and a sense of
control in her abstractions. Art has its limitations,
and art alone does not take the place of action.
While you are here: please consider this grouping
of artworks as it was originally intended to be: a
refuge of minimalism and abstraction, a respite,
a place to rest our eyes and recharge in order to
continue fighting the fight. The word refuge here is
important: refuge is temporary. Refuge connotes
limitations; art alone cannot offer a permanent
escape from our surroundings. For our white
audience: know that whiteness already acts as
a refuge for those who possess it. Do not let it
become an escape.
—July 2020
7