This is a collection show in the best sense: the museum's own holdings rearranged so that a formal idea — the grid, the arc, the hard edge — becomes a through-line across generations of Black American abstraction. Alma Thomas's mosaic fields sit in the same argument as Jack Whitten's worked surfaces, Al Loving's six-sided variations and Mehretu's layered cartographies. It closes out the Studio Museum's inaugural year in its new building, so it doubles as the clearest look yet at what the institu
What to expect
Gallery-scale painting and works on paper hung to let formal rhymes across decades do the talking, with the museum's new building itself part of the visit. It is a focused show rather than an exhausting one — an hour or two covers it, leaving room for whatever else is on the museum's floors.
Good to know
- Admission is pay-what-you-can, and visitors 16 and under always get in free.
- Studio Sundays bring free admission for everyone plus family-centered programming — the cheapest way in.
- The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan around a Wednesday-to-Sunday week.
- It is at 144 West 125th Street; the 2/3 and A/B/C/D all stop at 125th St within a short walk.
- Fridays run late, which makes it an easy add-on to an evening in Harlem.
- Book online in advance on a busy weekend rather than relying on walk-up entry.
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Common questions
How much is admission?
The Studio Museum uses pay-what-you-can pricing with a suggested adult ticket of $16, and you may pay less. Children 16 and under are free, and Studio Sundays are free for all visitors.
Which artists are in the show?
Works by Julie Mehretu, Alma Thomas, Jack Whitten, Norman Lewis, Stanley Whitney, Jennie C. Jones, Mavis Pusey, Odili Donald Odita, Sonia Boyce, Al Loving and William T. Williams, among many more, organized by Thelma Golden with Simon Ghebr
When is the museum open?
Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 6pm, with Fridays running until 9pm. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
