Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
In this conversation between artist Kahlil Robert Irving and Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, the two discuss Irving’s work and his piece My Grandmother’s Cupboard (Artifact), on view in What Is Left Unspoken, Love.
In Kahlil Robert Irving’s My Grandmother’s Cupboard (Artifact), love is nourished in the heart of the home, the kitchen. His installation contains hundreds of handmade ceramic objects, huddled together or arranged in stacks and rows in a traditional cabinet. Each is unique and associated with ordinary serving ware. Irving’s collection of black-glazed ceramics signifies Black togetherness, which provided love and strength to Irving’s grandmother and her generation as they endured racial injustice during the era of segregation. More generally, Irving’s groupings represent Black bodies in space, suggesting social gatherings that can be confrontational or celebratory.
Visit the High Museum: high.org
In this conversation between artist Kahlil Robert Irving and Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, the two discuss Irving’s work and his piece My Grandmother’s Cupboard (Artifact), on view in What Is Left Unspoken, Love.
In Kahlil Robert Irving’s My Grandmother’s Cupboard (Artifact), love is nourished in the heart of the home, the kitchen. His installation contains hundreds of handmade ceramic objects, huddled together or arranged in stacks and rows in a traditional cabinet. Each is unique and associated with ordinary serving ware. Irving’s collection of black-glazed ceramics signifies Black togetherness, which provided love and strength to Irving’s grandmother and her generation as they endured racial injustice during the era of segregation. More generally, Irving’s groupings represent Black bodies in space, suggesting social gatherings that can be confrontational or celebratory.
Visit the High Museum: high.org
