Whitechapel Gallery has announced an archival exhibition dedicated to the work of Senga Nengudi, an artist and educator whose practice occupies the intersection of sculpture, choreography, and performance. The presentation focuses on a definitive period of Nengudi’s career, utilizing photographic documentation, archival materials, and film to examine her contributions to the avant-garde Black art scenes of Los Angeles and New York.
Nengudi’s work is characterized by a synthesis of diverse cultural and artistic influences, including Fluxus, the Gutai group, Yoruba mythology, and Japanese Noh theatre. Her practice emerged from a period defined by radical experimentation and collective social commentary. As a member of the Studio Z collective in Los Angeles and a contributor to the Just Above Midtown (JAM) gallery in New York, Nengudi participated in a community of artists who sought to establish spaces for experimentation outside the institutional mainstream.
The exhibition highlights Nengudi’s development of “participatory sculpture,” wherein stationary objects are designed to be animated by human interaction or environmental forces. A central focus is the R.S.V.P. series, which marked the artist’s first use of nylon hosiery as a primary medium. These works, often filled with sand and tethered to gallery walls, were conceived following the birth of the artist’s first child. The material’s elasticity serves as a formal exploration of the human body’s resilience and a critique of societal constructs regarding the female physique.
The documentation on display illustrates how these sculptural forms were activated through movement. The exhibition includes records of collaborations with dancer and choreographer Maren Hassinger, as well as performances such as Performance Piece and Performance with Inside Outside. These works demonstrate Nengudi’s preoccupation with the concepts of flexibility and tension.
Further examination of Nengudi’s engagement with external forces is provided through the Spirit Flags series. These works, originally installed in urban alleyways and on fire escapes, utilized wind and rain to dictate the movement of the form. The exhibition also features the film Air Propo, a collaborative, improvised performance involving Cheryl Banks Smith and Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris. In this work, Nengudi utilized circular breathing techniques to incorporate her own body as an instrument, further blurring the distinction between the physical self and the artistic object.
This presentation represents Nengudi’s first solo exhibition in a London public gallery. It is scheduled to run concurrently with a survey of the work of Veronica Ryan, providing a contextual framework for understanding Nengudi’s influence on contemporary sculptural and performance practices.
Exhibition Details and Historical Context
The exhibition focuses on works created during a pivotal decade between 1972 and 1982. Key works featured include:
- Spirit Flags: Created in the early 1970s in New York.
- R.S.V.P.: Initiated in 1976.
- Performance Piece: 1977.
- Performance with Inside Outside: 1978.
- Air Propo: 1982.
Senga Nengudi will be on view at Whitechapel Gallery (Gallery 5) from 1 April – 14 June 2026. Admission to the gallery is free, with certain exhibitions requiring a ticketed fee. The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours on Thursdays.
