Uploaded August 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) is pleased to present Nari Ward: We the People, the first museum survey in Texas of the work of artist Nari Ward (b. 1963). The exhibition brings together works spanning Ward’s 25-year career.
Since the early 1990s, Ward has produced sculptures by accumulating staggering amounts of humble materials and repurposing them in surprising ways. His approach draws from a variety of art historical and folk traditions and reflects the textures of Harlem, where he has lived and worked for the past 25 years. Seeking out the personal and social narratives embedded in materials, he conceives of his sculptures as tools for articulating relationships between people. Over the past three decades, he has addressed topics such as historical memory, political and economic disenfranchisement, racism, and democracy in an effort to express both the tenuousness and the resilience of the artist’s Harlem community—a struggle that remains relatable in communities across the United States.
Nari Ward: We the People is organized by the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, New York, and is curated by Gary Carrion-Murayari, Kraus Family Curator; Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director; and Helga Christoffersen, Associate Curator.Its presentation at CAMH is coordinated by Dean Daderko, Curator.
Visit our website to learn more about the exhibition.
camh.org/event/nari-ward-we-the-people
© Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 2019.
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) is pleased to present Nari Ward: We the People, the first museum survey in Texas of the work of artist Nari Ward (b. 1963). The exhibition brings together works spanning Ward’s 25-year career.
Since the early 1990s, Ward has produced sculptures by accumulating staggering amounts of humble materials and repurposing them in surprising ways. His approach draws from a variety of art historical and folk traditions and reflects the textures of Harlem, where he has lived and worked for the past 25 years. Seeking out the personal and social narratives embedded in materials, he conceives of his sculptures as tools for articulating relationships between people. Over the past three decades, he has addressed topics such as historical memory, political and economic disenfranchisement, racism, and democracy in an effort to express both the tenuousness and the resilience of the artist’s Harlem community—a struggle that remains relatable in communities across the United States.
Nari Ward: We the People is organized by the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, New York, and is curated by Gary Carrion-Murayari, Kraus Family Curator; Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director; and Helga Christoffersen, Associate Curator.Its presentation at CAMH is coordinated by Dean Daderko, Curator.
Visit our website to learn more about the exhibition.
camh.org/event/nari-ward-we-the-people
© Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 2019.
