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LONG ISLAND CITY, New York, November 4, 2026—MoMA PS1 presents Hard Art, a major exhibition that examines the legacy of abstraction by Black artists in the US from 1969 to today. On view through March 15, 2027, the exhibition features over 90 works by more than 40 artists, and juxtaposes historical paintings by artists who came to prominence in the 1970s with recent conceptually driven practices that incorporate sculpture, video, sound, and painting. The exhibition traces the legacy of three generations of artists, featuring the work of Frank Bowling, Mark Bradford, Peter Bradley, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Ed Clark, Melvin Edwards, Jennie C. Jones, Joe Overstreet, and Raymond Saunders, alongside new and recent works by Aria Dean, Torkwase Dyson, Nikita Gale, Suzanne Jackson, Rindon Johnson, Caroline Kent, Carolyn Lazard, Eric N. Mack, Charisse Pearlina Weston, and SoiL Thornton, among others. Together, these cross-generational conversations emphasize the enduring relevance and urgency of abstraction in shaping the current political imaginary.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated publication featuring essays by Connie Butler, Aria Dean, Jessica Bell Brown, Torkwase Dyson, Rindon Johnson, and Erich Kessel, among other contributors, as well as an illustrated chronology of significant museum exhibitions by June Kitahara and Sheldon Gooch.
Organized by Connie Butler, The Agnes Gund Director, with Sheldon Gooch, Curatorial Associate. Exhibition research and support is provided by June Kitahara, Research Assistant.
ARTISTS
Hannah Black (b. 1981)
Frank Bowling (b. 1934)
Mark Bradford (b. 1961)
Peter Bradley (b. 1940)
Beverly Buchanan (1940-2015)
Barbara Chase-Riboud (b. 1939)
Ed Clark (1926-2019)
Aria Dean (b. 1993)
Torkwase Dyson (b. 1973)
Melvin Edwards (1937-2026)
Nikita Gale (b. 1983)
Sam Gilliam (1933-2022)
David Hammons (b. 1943)
Maren Hassinger (b. 1947)
Cynthia Hawkins (b. 1950)
Richard Hunt (1935-2005)
Suzanne Jackson (b. 1944)
Virginia Jaramillo (b. 1939)
Jennie C. Jones (b. 1968)
Rindon Johnson (b. 1990)
Daniel LaRue Johnson (1938-2017)
Caroline Kent (b. 1975)
Carolyn Lazard (b. 1987)
Glenn Ligon (b. 1960)
James Little (b. 1952)
Al Loving (1935-2005)
Mary Lovelace O’Neal (1942-2026)
Eric N. Mack (b. 1987)
Tiona Nekkia McClodden (b. 1981)
Rodney McMillian (b. 1969)
Julie Mehretu (b. 1970)
Senga Nengudi (b. 1943)
Lorraine O’Grady (1934-2024)
Joe Overstreet (1933-2019)
Adam Pendleton (b. 1984)
Howardena Pindell (b. 1943)
Walter Price (b. 1989)
Martin Puryear (b. 1941)
Andy Robert (b. 1984)
Raymond Saunders (1934-2025)
Mildred Thompson (1936-2003)
SoiL Thornton (b. 1990)
Charisse Pearlina Weston (b. 1988)
Jack Whitten (1939-2018)
SUPPORT
Major support is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Generous support is provided by Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida.
Significant support is provided by Art Bridges, the Black Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, The Jeffrey and Leslie Fischer Family Foundation, Melony and Adam Lewis, Susan and Larry Marx, Jay Ptashek and Karen Elizaga, and the Robert Lehman Foundation.
Additional support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Richard Chang, The Davidson Williams Foundation, Kathy and Richard Fuld, Bernard I. Lumpkin and Carmine D. Boccuzzi, Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg Foundation, and Amitha Raman.
Special thanks to the Judelson Family Foundation.
Press Kit
Images
Peter Bradley, Circle of Fifths, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 66 ¼” × 131″; 67½” × 132¼” (framed), Courtesy the artist and Karma, New York and Los Angeles © Peter Bradley
Raymond Saunders. Untitled. 2000–2010. Mixed media on board. 96″ x 26″ x 1 ½.” Collection Karen Elizaga and Jay Ptashek. Courtesy the Estate of Raymond Saunders; Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York; and David Zwirner, New York. © 2026 The Estate of Raymond Saunders
Howardena Pindell (b.1943), Untitled, 1969-1973, acrylic on canvas, 78 3/8 x 98 3/8 in. Art Bridges.
Nikita Gale. PRIVATE DANCER. 2020. Light show, trusses, spotlights, cables, and lighting control system. Dimensions variable; light show: 44 min., 32 sec. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Fund for the Twenty-First Century, 2025
Image courtesy: Photo: Elon Schoenholz
James Little. Challenge of the Will. 1979. Signed, titled and dated verso. Oil on canvas and linen. 54” x 68,” 137.2 x 172.7 cm. Courtesy the artist and Petzel, New York
Maren Hassinger. The Veil Between Us. 2007/2018. Twisted and knotted New York Times newspapers, twine, wire, rope and steel. 78″ x 360.” Installation view of The Spirit of Things at Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA, 2018. Courtesy the artist and Susan Inglett Gallery, New York. Photo: Joshua White
SoiL Thornton. What Is Sexuality, Is The Scale Infinite Similar To A Line. 2017. Acrylic paint, metallic paint, copper wire, galvanized steel wire, plexi glass on cotton and foam with wood frame. 111″ x 96 ” x 11.” Collection of Karen Elizaga and Jay Ptashek. Courtesy the artist and Morán Morán, Los Angeles
Mildred Thompson. Magnetic Fields, 1991. Oil on canvas. Triptych; overall: 70 ½ x 150 in (179.1 x 381 cm) © The Mildred Thompson Estate. Courtesy the The Mildred Thompson Estate and Galerie Lelong, New York
Richard Hunt. Linear Peregrination. 1962. Welded chromed steel. 66 1/8 x 102 3/8 x 61 in. (168 x 260 x 155 cm). © 2026 The Richard Hunt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo © On White Wall. Courtesy White Cube.
Hannah Black. “The unchecked panhandler is, in effect, the first broken window” (5). 2023. Oil and spray paint on canvas. 70 x 55 cm, 27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches. Courtesy the artist and Arcadia Missa, London Photo: Tom Carter