Arthur Jafa to Curate 'Artist’s Choice' Exhibition at MoMA New York Opening November 2025
The Museum of Modern Art in New York presents Artist’s Choice: Arthur Jafa—Less Is Morbid from November 19, 2025 to July 05, 2026. Artist Arthur Jafa, originally from Tupelo, Mississippi, has selected nearly 100 objects from the museum’s collection for the latest installment in its Artist’s Choice series. The installation places works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Lygia Clark, Roy DeCarava, Kase2, Ming Smith, Piet Mondrian, and Lutisha Pettway in dialogue, highlighting shared allover compositional approaches that exceed physical frames. Jafa’s title references Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s dictum, with the architect’s steel column included among the objects on view.
The Signal
The exhibition reframes institutional collecting histories by collapsing binary categories such as minimalist and maximalist or individual and collective. It positions Jafa’s practice of montage and assemblage within MoMA’s holdings, offering collectors and curators a model for reevaluating how affective associations across makers can challenge established hierarchies in museum display. The project signals continued institutional interest in artists who integrate film, architecture, and installation to address coexistence over exclusionary frameworks.
- Artists: Arthur Jafa, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Lygia Clark, Roy DeCarava, Kase2, Ming Smith, Piet Mondrian, Lutisha Pettway, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
- People: Arthur Jafa
- Museums: The Museum of Modern Art
- Locations: New York
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