Nari Ward. Ground Break

The works on display in the Navate include four large-scale installations that Ward created between 1996 and 2000 for Ralph Lemon’s performance project Geography Trilogy (1997–2004). 

The project investigated issues of identity and cultural heritage through various dance traditions.

The exhibition opens with a site-specific work, Hunger Cradle (1996), composed of a complex network of interlaced threads, unveiling hidden objects within its structure found in a former fire station in Harlem.

The act of accumulating and cradling conjures up the idea of a place of protection but also transformation, like an insect’s cocoon.

The sounds consist of various interpretations of the American and Italian national anthems composed using the sound of glass bottles and water. 

In this work, the artist invites us to reflect on the significance of nationalisms that promote the idea of a mythical origin of national identity and, through the accumulation of materials, to perceive the layered nature of the history of identity.

Carpet Angel (1992) juxtaposes “high” and “low” in terms of both form and meaning.
Ward used pieces of carpets and rugs, interweaving them with plastic bags and bottles, screws, and rope.

The work evokes the concepts of sanctification or regeneration of what has been discarded, as well as spiritual redemption through the concrete nature of the materials.

The entrance to the room resembles that of a duty-free shop. Inside, the room’s perimeter is marked by a corridor made from household furniture tied together with fire hoses, a recurring object in the artist’s work. 

Suspended in the center of the space, a fire escape evokes a sense of spiritual transcendence, while an aloe vera plant symbolizes regeneration.

Numerous international institutions have presented Nari Ward’s solo exhibitions, including: Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan (2022); New Museum, New York (2019, 1993); Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Contemporary Art Museum, Houston (2019); The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield (2019); 

deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln (2018); Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2017); The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (2016); Pérez Art Museum Miami, Scad Museum of Art, Savannah (2015); 

LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2014); Château de Blandy-Les-Tours, France (2013); MASS MoCa, Massachusetts (2011); Contemporary Art Galleries at the University of Connecticut (2007); Palazzo delle Papesse - Contemporary Art Center, Siena (2006); 

GAM, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin (2001); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2001, 2000); Magasin, Grenoble (1994).