Photo Credit: © Mario Sorrenti

Ep.147 features Titus Kaphar, an artist whose paintings, sculptures, and installations examine the history of representation by transforming its styles and mediums with formal innovations to emphasize the physicality and dimensionality of the canvas and materials themselves. His practice seeks to dislodge history from its status as the “past” in order to unearth its contemporary relevance, and to reveal something of what has been lost and to investigate the power of a rewritten history. Kaphar’s commitment to social engagement has led him to move beyond traditional modes of artistic expression to establish NXTHVN, a new national arts model that empowers emerging artists and curators of color through education and access. Through intergenerational mentorship, professional development and cross-sector collaboration, NXTHVN accelerates professional careers in the arts. https://www.nxthvn.com/

Titus Kaphar (b. 1976, Kalamazoo, Michigan) lives and works in New Haven, CT. Kaphar received an MFA from the Yale School of Art and is a distinguished recipient of numerous prizes and awards including a 2018 MacArthur Fellowship, a 2018 Art for Justice Fund grant, a 2016 Robert R. Rauschenberg Artist as Activist grant, and a 2015 Creative Capital grant. Kaphar’s work, Analogous Colors, was featured on the cover of the June 15, 2020 issue of TIME. His work is included in the collections of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; the 21C Museum Collection; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; and Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, amongst others.

Artist https://www.kapharstudio.com/
NXTHVN https://www.nxthvn.com/about/
Gagosian Titus Kaphar | Gagosian
Ted Talks https://www.ted.com/speakers/titus_kaphar
MacArthur Foundation https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2018/titus-kaphar
NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/arts/design/yale-new-haven-titus-kaphar.html
New Haven Register https://www.nhregister.com/entertainment/article/documentary-New-Haven-CT-Oscars-shut-up-and-paint-17696612.php
Art for Justice Fund https://artforjusticefund.org/grantee/titus-kaphar/
PBS POV | POV Shorts: Shut Up and Paint | Season 35 | Episode 501 | PBS
Metropolitan Museum Titus Kaphar | Contour of Loss | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)
Kennedy Center https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/hip-hop/2022-2023/black-thought-streams-of-thought/
MoMA https://www.moma.org/artists/48017
Brooklyn Museum https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/titus_kaphar
C& https://contemporaryand.com/exhibition/one-titus-kaphar/
Surface Magazine https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/titus-kaphar-film-shut-up-and-paint/
Whitewall https://whitewall.art/art/titus-kaphar-taps-into-history-and-intuition-in-new-alters-at-gagosian
Hyperallergic https://hyperallergic.com/tag/titus-kaphar/
Ocula https://ocula.com/artists/titus-kaphar/
Artnet https://news.artnet.com/market/gagosian-titus-kaphar-nxthvn-1901048
Deadline https://deadline.com/2022/12/shut-up-and-paint-dctv-short-documentary-directors-titus-kaphar-alex-mallis-interview-news-1235200025/
Tribeca Film Festival https://tribecafilm.com/films/shut-up-and-paint-2022
Short of the Week https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2022/12/11/shut-up-and-paint/
KGBH https://www.wgbh.org/news/arts/2022/11/11/open-studio-artist-titus-kaphar-takes-on-mass-incarceration
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Kaphar
Culture Magazine https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2020/09/23/nxthvn-is-a-new-kind-of-space-built-to-uplift-artists-and-curators-of-color
AVANews https://avanewsblog.com/2021/04/supporting-inclusive-art/
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum https://www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/exhibition/titus-kaphar

Titus Kaphar
An Illusion of Progress, 2022
Oil on canvas, vinyl, and wood, in enamel frame with velvet
78 1/2 x 65 1/2 x 9 7/16 inches (199.4 x 166.4 x 24 cm)
© Titus Kaphar. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd. Courtesy Gagosian.

Titus Kaphar
Doubt III, 2022
Wax with tar, gold enamel and oil on canvas
56 5/16 x 34 1/4 x 33 7/8 inches (143 x 87 x 86 cm)
© Titus Kaphar. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd. Courtesy Gagosian.

Titus Kaphar
Imagine, 2013
Oil on canvas
62 x 72 inches (157.48 x 182.88 cm)
© Titus Kaphar. Courtesy the artist and Gagosian.

Titus Kaphar
A Disturbing Silence, 2011
Oil on canvas with antique frame
43 x 36 x 18 inches (109.22 x 91.44 x 45.72 cm)
© Titus Kaphar. Courtesy the artist and Gagosian.