Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is opening the exhibition MAGNUMB by the American artist Arthur Jafa. Two and a half years in the planning, the exhibition will be the biggest presentation of Jafa’s art to date. All of Jafa’s work deals with the great and original creative power of Afro-American culture. 

Kvadrat is proud to support this showcase with 210 meters of Divina 3 by Finn Sködt to accompany the artwork Akingdoncomethas, 2018, a film consisting largely of footage from churches, featuring sermons and gospel music. In one sequence, Jafa leaves the church behind and shows us news footage of California wildfires, a world in flames. The title refers to a millennialist term, “A kingdom cometh as”. Deliberately misspelled by Jafa, the term refers to the End Times and the ascent of believers into heaven. This work portrays a hearth of the culture – of music, critical thinking, the civil rights movement and his community. 

Arthur Jafa is widely considered one of the most important artists working today. Over a long career, he has moved in and out of the worlds of film, music and art without ever making a permanent home in one. No matter where he has been, he has always been driven by the ambition to create or develop a cinema with “the power, beauty, and alienation of black music.” Bound up with this ambition is Jafa’s lifelong interest in the specificity of Afro-American culture – what it excels at, such as music, and what it grows out of. 

The exhibition features Jafa’s key filmic works, including a new video work made specifically for this exhibition, alongside a large number of works in other media, several of which were also made for the occasion. For Louisiana, Jafa’s work is an obvious continuation of the American tradition of Pop art, with its fascination with pop culture and social criticism. Pop art is a cornerstone of the museum’s collection, with names like Warhol, Rauschenberg, Fahlström and Kogelnik. 

The exhibition is curated by Mathias Ussing Seeberg and will be on view in the museum’s South Wing. 

Exhibition dates:  
21 April – 1 August 2021 

Opening hours: 
Tuesday - Friday: 11.00 - 22.00 
Saturday – Sunday: 11.00 - 18.00 
Monday - Closed