Carrie Mae Weems: The Heart of the Matter
In collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo and the Gallerie d’Italia, Aperture presents an expansive retrospective, Carrie Mae Weems: The Heart of Matter. The exhibition follows the spiritual and personal journey of the acclaimed American artist, exploring how she addresses history, identity, and social justice through her work.
Weems often positions herself within her photographs as a historical reference, guide, or muse. Her art reveals spaces and stories frequently left out of traditional narratives: artists’ studios, plantations in the American South, domestic interiors, and the “invisible institutions” born of violence and oppression that became sanctuaries for African-American worship. These are contrasted with monuments and museums that have long stood as symbols of exclusion.
The show features more than 100 works and three major video installations drawn from Weems’s most recognized series. It also introduces a new, large-scale installation commissioned specifically for this project that delves into themes of religion and spirituality.
The exhibition is accompanied by a monograph co-published by Aperture and Allemandi Editore and curated by Sarah Meister, Executive Director of Aperture.
“Carrie Mae Weems continues to challenge how history is told, seen, and remembered.”
Author’s Summary
This exhibition traces Carrie Mae Weems’s artistic evolution through over a hundred works exploring history, identity, and spirituality in spaces often overlooked.