The Cornell Art Museum will host the opening of "Rodney Demps: The Surrealist of the Highwaymen" on Friday, May 1, 2026. The exhibition highlights the work of Rodney Demps, a contemporary artist whose surrealist style connects to the legacy of the Florida Highwaymen, a group of African American landscape painters active in the mid-20th century.
The exhibition matters because it brings renewed attention to the Highwaymen tradition while showcasing how a new generation of artists reinterprets that heritage through surrealism. By placing Demps' work in a museum context, the show bridges historical and contemporary African American art narratives, offering audiences a fresh perspective on Florida's cultural history.