Casey Kaplan
We congratulate Kevin Beasley on receiving the prestigious 28th Heinz Award for the Arts.
Working across sculpture, sound and performance, Kevin Beasley’s artworks are inspired by his personal experiences of grappling with history and are constructed with culturally relevant ephemera, materials, music and sounds that bear their stories. His sculptures layer these objects, preserved in resin, as “slabs” arranged as landscapes and painterly abstract works, clothing suspended in the form of absent figures and satellite dishes that alter the acoustics of the spaces they occupy. Sound, a powerful and consistent tool in Beasley’s practice, amplifies the physicality of his works, adding a tactile experience to his installations and performances. Their vibrations are felt in the body as much as their sources are seen and their sounds heard. These combined elements offer viewers a deeper way to contend with the stories within.
Beasley’s 2016 work, “Your face is/is not enough,” exemplified his ability to create conceptual works that blend the physicality of sculpture with sound and performance. Incorporating audio clips from riots and protests, the piece featured NATO-issued riot gas masks covered with feathers and items of clothing, which were worn by performers as they vocalized into megaphones strapped over their shoulders. The work was later included in the 2018 Liverpool Biennial and acquired by Tate.
“A View of a Landscape,” his 2018 solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, connected distinctly to his childhood home in Virginia, where, during a reunion, Beasley learned that his family had leased their land for growing cotton. The realization sparked research into the materials, history and impact of the cotton industry on his Black ancestors and led him to travel to Maplesville, Alabama, to purchase a 2,500-pound cotton gin motor that had been in operation during the pivotal events of the Civil Rights Movement. The resulting work, titled “A cotton gin motor” (2012-18), enclosed the restored engine in a soundproof vitrine. The hum of its operation was visually implied through the glass, while its actual roar was skillfully co-opted from the gallery and piped into a separate listening room. The exhibition also included three of Beasley’s slabs, each an 8’x10’ amalgamation of objects including Virginia-grown cotton, graduation caps, pinecones, du-rags and housedresses bought at a store in Harlem where his grandmother shopped. In 2023, a monograph and LP by the same title as the 2018 exhibition was released and chronicled Beasley’s career from 2011-20. In a show of the breadth of Beasley’s practice as well as his influences, the book includes photographs, poems, essays and contributions from collaborators, including Ralph Lemon (a previous Heinz Award winner).
“I have a belief that histories are not only written through language but even more importantly inscribed, collected and gathered through objects, ephemera, and places we encounter. Whether it’s the texture of a weathered surface or the accumulation of stuff, the presence and existence of our activities and ultimately our lives is evidenced by what we leave behind, from footprints to legacy,” says Beasley. “My work, ‘A View of a Landscape,’ is a way for me to look at this kind of history and material residue. Not only in the long stretches of history but also in the shorter, more recent occurrences. How do we account for the movements of generations before our own — our ancestors’ — while also bearing witness, engaging, and noting the subtle movements unfolding right in front of us? I can’t help but feel implicated in this fact, so it is imperative for me to channel this through my hands with materials that bring mystery, malleability, and aesthetic discovery to the forefront.”
“My husband, John Heinz, embraced the conviction that life is made worth living by continuous questioning, examination and exploration, and he viewed the arts as a lens through which a society examines its conscience,” says Teresa Heinz, Chairman of the Heinz Family Foundation. “Kevin’s multilayered, interdisciplinary work calls us to do just that, drawing us in to reflect on and better understand the truth of our past and inspiring us to rethink how we together shape what comes next. We honor Kevin not only for his impact on the world of contemporary art, but more importantly, for creating works of sculpture, sound, materials and memory that captivate and direct us toward a more just future.”
Established by Teresa Heinz in 1993 to honor the memory of her late husband, U.S. Senator John Heinz, the Heinz Awards celebrates the accomplishments and spirit of the Senator by recognizing the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the areas of great importance to him. The awards, administered by the Heinz Family Foundation, currently recognize individuals for their contributions in the areas of the Arts, the Economy and the Environment. As part of the accolade, Beasley will receive an unrestricted cash award of $250,000.
For more information on the Heinz Awards and the awardees, visit https://www.heinzawards.org/