Lorna Simpson's paintings are the subject of a new survey exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, titled "Source Notes," on view through November 2. The show features over 20 paintings created between 2014 and 2024, marking the first exhibition to survey Simpson's output in this medium. Curated by Lauren Rosati, the exhibition aims to provide an overview of her painterly practice while connecting it to her collage work, with two vitrines displaying her collages to illustrate the fluidity between the two practices. Simpson, best known for her photography from the 1980s, debuted her paintings at the 2015 Venice Biennale organized by the late curator Okwui Enwezor.
The exhibition matters because it attempts to position Simpson as a significant painter, building on her established reputation as a photographer who challenged preconceptions about Black women through text and image. However, the review argues that the show feels cramped and insufficiently comprehensive, with a seemingly random selection of works that fails to fully make the case for Simpson as a great painter. The spatial constraints are highlighted by comparison to a larger John Singer Sargent blockbuster upstairs, raising questions about the Met's priorities. The review notes this will be the last exhibition in that space before construction begins on the $500 million Tang Wing, underscoring institutional decisions about resource allocation.