Whitechapel Gallery in London is presenting "Senga Nengudi: Performance Works 1972-1982," an archival exhibition featuring photographic works, archival materials, and films that focus on a pivotal decade in the pioneering African-American artist's career. The show highlights Nengudi's early performance pieces, including her "spirit flags" and works incorporating hosiery and her body, created in collaboration with artists like David Hammons and Maren Hassinger.
This exhibition matters because Nengudi's work has had limited exposure outside the United States, with her first UK solo institutional show only occurring in 2018. By concentrating on a single decade of her performance practice, the exhibition places her work in dialogue with that of Veronica Ryan, also showing at Whitechapel, and underscores Nengudi's significance as a trailblazer working at the intersection of sculpture, performance, and choreography during a formative period in contemporary art.