tl;dr

  • Arthur Jafa will curate the next edition of the long-running Artist's Choice exhibition series at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
  • His exhibition, titled Less is Morbid, will give a platform for Black, queer and feminine voices.
  • Works by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mark Rothko, Roy DeCarava, Lygia Clark and others will be on view.

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Arthur Jafa is curating the next edition of the Artist's Choice series at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Jafa's chosen title, Less is Morbid, is a play on the maxim “less is more,” attributed to the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. By expanding on this concept Jafa refutes the equation of simplicity with beauty and removal with order to give a platform for Black, queer and feminine voices.

Jafa has selected approximately 100 objects from the museum's collection. By arranging pieces from Jean-Michel Basquiat and Cy Twombly, Cady Noland and Mark Rothko, and Piet Mondrian, Roy DeCarava and Lygia Clark in juxtaposition, Jafa weaves a thread that links these artists and their creations into a comprehensive whole. Characterized by an all-over aesthetic, where the picture surpasses the confines of its physical frame, the featured works take dichotomous ideas and approaches and abolishes the hierarchies that proceed from them.

A drawing with a variety of symbols executed in an offhand style such as suns, stars, random lines, stick figures with spears, and in the lower right corner the printed signature Jean Michel Basquiat.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1981. Oilstick on paper, 40 x 60" (101.6 x 152.4 cm). Fractional and promised gift of Sheldon H. Solow. Image courtesy of Museum of Modern Art.

Initiated in 1989 when artist Scott Burton was invited by the curatorial board of the Museum of Modern Art to “select, juxtapose, and comment on” works by the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi, the Artist's Choice series has since been a regular event hosted by the museum, held almost every year. By giving contemporary artists the liberty to impart their own vision and understanding of the significance of works by their contemporaries and predecessors, MoMA provides an opportunity and a venue for artists and visitors to conduct a dialogue with the works that upturns established hierarchies.

Arthur Jafa is known for his utilization of collage, montage, and assemblage in his creative output to spark emotional associations in viewers. His work in contemporary moving image art is considered foundational. Through his films and videos, he explores how Black visual and musical culture influenced and shaped the broader context of American culture.

Less is Morbid is scheduled to open on November 19, 2025. For more information visit the MoMA site.

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