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Somewhere to Roost

February 12, 2025–May 25, 2025
Exhibition

Featuring over 60 works including paintings, textiles, photographs, and sculptures, Somewhere to Roost explores the ways that artists evoke and construct ideas of “home.” 

The exhibition’s title is drawn from an artwork by Thornton Dial, Sr. (1928–2016), Birds Got to Have Somewhere to Roost,” which will be among the works on view. Reflecting on this statement, the exhibition explores the importance of rest, comfort, and safety, while considering the poetic and unspecified nature of the word “somewhere.” Taken both literally and metaphorically, Somewhere to Roost represents spaces where artists live and work, as well as places remembered, imagined, or dreamed. The exhibition highlights experiences of immigration, incarceration, and housing insecurity, as well as visions of home that are playful, inventive, and unexpected.

The exhibition is curated by Brooke Wyatt, Luce Assistant Curator at the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM). It is the third in a series of thematic shows drawn from the Museum’s collection and generously supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Artworks

Thornton Dial Sr., Birds Got to Have Somewhere to Roost, Alabama, United States, c. 2012. Wood, carpet scraps, corrugated tin, burlap, nails, and enamel on wood, 61 1/4 × 48 × 10″. Gift of the Thornton Dial Family, 2013.6.1.Photo by Stephen Pitkin / Pitkin Studio © 2016 Estate of Thornton Dial.

Clementine Hunter, (1886 or 1887–1988), “Going to Church”, Natchitoches, Louisiana, 1980–1986, Oil on board, 17 1/2 × 24 in., Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, Gift of Joan Einbender, 2016.28.6. Photo by Adam Reich.  © Cane River Art Corporation

Kapo (Mallica Reynolds, 1911–1989), “Roberta Flack,” Kingston, Jamaica, 1970, Oil on canvas, American Folk Art Museum, Gift of Maurice C. and Patricia L. Thompson, 2003.20.6.

Ammi Phillips, (1788–1865), “Portrait of Frederick A. Gale”, Galesville (now Middle Falls), New York, c. 1815, Oil on canvas, 44 3/4 x 24 ¼ in., Collection of the American Folk Art Museum, Gift of Lucy and Mike Danziger in honor of Peter Tillou, Jason Busch, and Emelie Gevalt for their contributions to the appreciation of American Folk Art., 2022.1.1. Photo by Eva Cruz.

Credits

The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to enrich public discourse by promoting innovative scholarship, cultivating new leaders, and fostering international understanding. A leader in art funding since 1982, the Luce Foundation’s American Art Program supports innovative museum projects nationwide that advance art-centered conversations that celebrate creativity, explore difference, and seek common ground. Learn more at http://www.hluce.org.