Torkwase Dyson, Distance, Distance (1919: Black Water), 2019, acrylic, metal, ink, and gouache on wood, 98" (248.9 cm) diameter; all images © Torkwase Dyson Torkwase Dyson Detailsb. 1973, Chicago, Illinois Torkwase Dyson describes herself as a painter working across multiple mediums to explore the continuity between ecology, infrastructure, and architecture.Examining environmental racism as well as the history and future of black spatial liberation strategies, Dyson’s abstract works grapple with the ways in which space is perceived and negotiated, particularly by black and brown bodies. In 2019, Dyson’s solo exhibition I Can Drink the Distance was on view at The Cooper Union, New York, and her work was also presented at the Sharjah Biennial.In addition to participating in group exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and California African American Museum, Los Angeles, Dyson has had solo exhibitions and installations at Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine; Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago; Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia; and Suzanne Lemberg Usdan Gallery, Bennington College, Vermont. Torkwase Dyson, Nautical Dusk, 2018, Installation, Courtesy of the Colby Museum of Art/Photograph by Gabe Souza © Torkwase Dyson Torkwase Dyson, Plantationocene (Black Water 1919), 2019, acrylic, graphite, string, wood, ink on canvas, 98" diameter © Torkwase Dyson Torkwase Dyson, I Can Drink the Distance: Plantationocene in 2 Acts, featuring Deja Smith, Arthur Jafa, and Gaika, Performed at Pace Gallery on November 22, 2019 Torkwase Dyson, I Belong to the Distance, 2019, Wood, metal, granite, Dimensions variable © Torkwase Dyson Torkwase Dyson, I Belong to the Distance, 2019, Wood, metal, granite, Dimensions variable © Torkwase Dyson Torkwase Dyson, Nautical Dusk, 2018, Installation, Courtesy of the Colby Museum of Art/Photos by Gabe Souza © Torkwase Dyson Exhibitions View All London Pace Live — Torkwase Dyson Liquid a Place: In Two Acts Upcoming Oct 8–Nov 6, 2021 New York Hiding in Plain Sight Upcoming Jul 14–Aug 21, 2021 East Hampton Torkwase Dyson Studies for Bird and Lava Past Aug 1–Aug 9, 2020 Journal View All Artist Projects Torkwase Dyson at the 13th Shanghai Biennale Nov 13, 2020 Pace Live Torkwase Dyson Talks to Hans Ulrich Obrist Apr 12, 2020 Museum Exhibitions New Series by Torkwase Dyson Debuts at NOMA Jan 27, 2020 One-Artist Exhibitions Group Exhibitions Public Collections Periodicals Books and Catalogues Close One-Artist Exhibitions 01-Dyson-Torkwase-one-artist.pdf DatesBorn 1973, ChicagoEDUCATION2003, Painting/Printmaking Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, MFA1999, Painting/Printmaking, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, BFA1996, Sociology/Social Work Tougaloo College, Mississippi, BA2020Torkwase Dyson: Studies for Bird and Lava, Pace Gallery, 68 Park Place, East Hampton, New York, August 1–9, 2020.Torkwase Dyson: Black Compositional Thought | 15 Paintings for the Plantationocene, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, January 24–April 19 (extended to December 31), 2020.2019Torkwase Dyson - 1919: Black Water, Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, Columbia University, September 27–December 14, 2019. (Booklet)Torkwase Dyson: I Can Drink the Distance, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, The Cooper Union, New York, March 26–April 25, 2019.2018Torkwase Dyson: Nautical Dusk, William D. Adams Gallery, Colby Museum of Art, Colby College, Waterville, Maine, October 4, 2019–January 6, 2019.Scalar, Suzanne Lemerg Usdan, Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont, September 18–December 15, 2018.Torkwase Dyson: James Madison Dyson, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, September 14–October 27, 2018.Torkwase Dyson and the Wynter-Wells Drawing School, Graham Foundation, Chicago, May 3–July 28, 2018.Torkwase Dyson: Dear Henry, Davidson Contemporary, New York, March 15–May 5, 2018.Torkwase Dyson: Black Compositional Thought and the Wynter-Wells Drawing School for Environmental Justice, The Drawing Center, New York, February 24–March 11, 2018.2017Torkwase Dyson: Hidden in Plain Site: Black Paintings, Texas Tech University, College of Visual + Performing Arts, School of Art, Landmark Gallery, Lubbock, 2017.2016Torkwase Dyson: Illegal Abstraction: A Single Author, Hemphill Fine Arts 1700 L St., Washington D.C., October 27, 2016–January 27, 2017.Torkwase Dyson: Mine Mind, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, Virginia, May 27–June 23, 2016.Torkwase Dyson: Unkeeping, Industry City Gallery/Eyebeam, New York, March 9–April 12, 2016.2014Mine: a solo exhibition by Torkwase Dyson, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, October 2015.2008Torkwase Dyson: Hereinafter, Meat Market Gallery, Washington D.C., 2008.2006Torkwase Dyson: Ding, Bling, Splash: Hurray You’re Rich, Ty Stokes Gallery, Atlanta, 2006.Torkwase Dyson: Oil and Water Don’t Mix, Ty Stokes Gallery, Atlanta, 2006. Group Exhibitions 02-Dyson-Torkwase-Group.pdf 2021Stories of Resistance, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Missouri, March 12–August 15, 2021. (Catalogue)Drawing 2020, Gladstone Gallery, New York, September 24–December 2020.Bodies of Water: The 13th Shanghai Biennale - Phase 03: An Exhibition, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, April 17–July 25, 2021.Climate Changing: On Artists, Institutions, and the Social Environment, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus, January 30, 2021–May 9, 2021.2020Catalyst: Art and Social Justice, Gracie Mansion Conservancy, New York, February 20, 2020–September 8, 2021.2019Count of Three, Alexander Gray Associates, New York, April 18–May 24, 2019.Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, March 8–August 25, 2019.Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, March 7–June 10, 2019.2018Out of Easy Reach, Gallery 400, University of Illinois, Chicago, August 24–October 4, 2018. (Catalogue)The Last Place They Thought Of, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, April 27–August 12, 2018. (Leaflet)Primary, Korn Gallery, Dorothy Young Center for the Arts, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, March 22–April 25, 2018.Between the Waters, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 9–July 22, 2018.2017Lack of Location is My Location, Koenig & Clinton, New York, November 3, 2017–January 14, 2018.On Documentary Abstraction, Art Center South Florida, Miami, September 30, 2017–January 2, 2018.35 Days, Hemphill Fine Art, Washington, D.C., June 24–August 11, 2017.Works on Water 2017, 3LD Art & Technology Center, New York, June 5–30, 2017.Stacked, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, May 11–June 17, 2017.Invisible Man, Maros Gallery, New York, May 3–June 24, 2017.Dialogues In Drawing, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, March 16–May 23, 2017.x y: An Act of Translation, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, New York, February 17–March 26, 2017.The Future is Abstract, Harvey B. Gantt Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, January 28–July 8, 2017.2016In Conditions of Freshwater, Duke University, Center for Documentary Studies, Durham, North Carolina, March 2–June 10, 2017.Grey Scale, PostMasters Gallery, New York, June 24–August 20, 2016.The Block Party, Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York, July 14–mid-August 2016.2015A Constellation, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, November 14, 2015–March 6, 2016. (Catalogue)Eyebeam Annual Showcase, 101 Front St. Galleries Brooklyn, January 29–February 21, 2015.Outside In, South Street Seaport Cultural Building, New York, October 2–November 13, 2015.EAF 15: 2015 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, New York, September 27, 2015–March 16, 2016.2014Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, Minnesota, 2014.Africa Extended, United Nations, New York, 2014.2011Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists, Reginald F. Lewis Museum Baltimore, February 12–October 16, 2011. (Catalogue)2010Monastic Residency: Torkwase Dyson: Whitney Biennial 2010, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 7–9, 2010.2008It Might Blow Up, But It Won’t Go Pop, African American Art Museum, Dallas, 2008Passin’ It On, Rush Arts Gallery New York, 2008.Ephemerality, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia, January 12–April 12, 2008.Spectrum-ed, Flanders Art Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina, June 1–July 1, 2008.She’s So Articulate: Black Women Artists Reclaim the Narrative, Arlington Center for the Arts, Arlington, Virginia, June 10–July 19, 2008. (Catalogue)2007The Velocity of Gesture, or How to Build an Empire, The Dalton Gallery, Decatur, Georgia, Spring 2007.2006Magic Realism: Relationships to Caribbean and Latin Literature, Rush Arts, 2006. Public Collections 03-Dyson-Torkwase-public-collections.pdf Hall Art Foundation, Reading, VermontSmith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MassachusettsSmithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, Washington, D.C.The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Periodicals 05-Dyson-Torkwase-bib-periodicals.pdf 2020Barrila, Silvia Anna. “Vendite vivaci a Frieze online nella fascia alta.” Il Sole 24 Ore, 9 May 2020.Donoghue, Katy. “A Few Finds in Frieze New York’s Online Viewing Rooms.” Whitewall, 6 May 2020. https://www.whitewall.art/art/finds-frieze-new-yorks-online-viewing-roomsDuron, Maximiliano and Angelica Villa. “Frieze New York Moves Online with Brisk Sales and Blue-Chip Art.” ARTnews, 6 May 2020. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/frieze-new-york-2020-online-sales-report-1202686227/Lescaze, Zoë. “12 Artists On: The Financial Crisis.” T: The New York Times Style Magazine, 21 July 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/t-magazine/art-financial-crisis.htmlPerry, Barlo. “Torkwase Dyson and Hans Ulrich Obrist.” Paris LA, 29 March 2020. https://www.paris-la.com/torkwase-dyson-and-hans-ulrich-obrist/Schuster, Angela M. H. “In the Studio: Torkwase Dyson Got Certified as an Open-Water Diver to get Closer to her Subject” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). Avenue Magazine (September/October 2020): 30–33, illustrated.Tauer, Kristen. “Torkwase Dyson’s Latest Work Takes Shape in ‘Studies for Bird and Lava” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). WWD, 13 August 2020. https://wwd.com/eye/people/torkwase-dyson-pace-gallery-studies-for-bird-and-lava-1203698174/“Torkwase Dyson” (New Orleans Museum of Art exhibition preview). Wall Street International Magazine, 4 January 2020. https://wsimag.com/art/60011-torkwase-dyson“Turbulent Decades” (Pace Gallery online exhibition review). Aesthetica, 16 May 2020.2019Long, Monique. “Torkwase Dyson tells the history of black liberation through cartographic art” (Columbia University exhibition review). Document Journal, 27 September 2019.Miller, Nicole. “Torkwase Dyson’s New Show is an Abstract Meditation on the Racial Violence of the 1919 Red Summer” (Columbia University’s Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery exhibition review). Art in America (December 2019): 101, illustrated.“Portfolio: Tuning by Torkwase Dyson” (Graham Foundation exhibition review). Bomb Magazine, 11 July 2019. https://bombmagazine.org/articles/portfolio-torkwase-dyson/Wolpow, Nina. “Torkwase Dyson: 1919: Blackwater” (Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery exhibition review). The Brooklyn Rail, November 2019. https://brooklynrail.org/2019/11/artseen/Torkwase-Dyson-1919-BlackwaterZacks, Stephen. “Is Torkwase Dyson's abstract recount of racial violence a missed opportunity?” (Columbia University exhibition review). The Architect’s Newspaper, 21 October 2019. https://archpaper.com/2019/10/is-torkwase-dysons-1991-black-water/2018Binlot, Ann. “Virgil Abloh and Grace Wales Bonner Imagine Their Ideal Cities.” Document Journal, 10 December 2018. https://www.documentjournal.com/2018/12/virgil-abloh-and-grace-wales-bonner-imagine-their-ideal-cities/Dyson, Torkwase, Elisabeth Sherman and Margaret Cross. “Between the Waters Roundtable.” Whitney Museum of American Art, 2018. https://whitney.org/Essays/BetweenTheWatersDyson, Torkwase. “Unlearning America’s History with Torkwase Dyson.” Elephant, 20 June 2018. https://elephant.art/studio-visit-torkwase-dyson/Grabner, Michelle. “Torkwase Dyson Rhona Hoffman Gallery” (exhibition review). Artforum (January 2019). https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/201901/torkwase-dyson-78033Vermeulen, Heather V. “Space as Place, Scalar as Vector: Torkwase Dyson’s (Black) Abstraction,” Exhibition essay for Torkwase Dyson: Scalar, Usdan Gallery, Bennington College, North Bennington, Vermont, September—December 2018.2017Pedro, Laila. “When Conceptual Art Makes You Acutely Aware of Your Body” (Martos Gallery exhibition review). Hyperallergic, 9 June 2017. https://hyperallergic.com/384468/when-conceptual-art-makes-you-acutely-aware-of-your-body/Pedor, Laila. “Threads of Fire and Water and Gold” (We Buy Gold exhibition review). The Brooklyn Rail, 1 April 2017. https://brooklynrail.org/2017/04/artseen/Threads-of-Fire-and-Water-and-Gold-ONEHeinrich, Will. “What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week” (Martos Gallery exhibition review). The New York Times, 25 May 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/arts/design/what-to-see-in-new-york-art-galleries-this-week.htmlSchwendener, Martha. “10 Galleries to Visit Now in Brooklyn” (We Buy Gold exhibition review). The New York Times, 27 April 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/arts/design/10-galleries-to-visit-now-in-brooklyn.html2016Keeshin, Matthew and Torkwase Dyson. “This Art Studio Made from Upcycled Materials Hits the Highway.” Dwell, 2016. https://www.dwell.com/collection/this-art-studio-made-from-upcycled-materials-hits-the-highway-c6fcdc0fSchwendener, Martha. “Torkwase Dyson, Unkeeping” (Eyebeam in Industry City exhibition review). The New York Times, 31 March 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/04/01/arts/design/art-galleries-nyc.htmlFowle, Alexandra. “Torkwase Dyson: Unkeeping” (Eyebeam in Industry City exhibition review). The Brooklyn Rail, April 2016. https://brooklynrail.org/2016/04/artseen/torkwase-dyson-unkeepingByrd, Cathy. “Materials Girls.” Sculpture Magazine, 2016: 64.2013Hirsh, Jennie. "Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists” (Reginald F. Lewis Museum exhibition review). Art in America, November 2011. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/aia-reviews/material-girls-contemporary-black-women-artists-61040/Long, Monique. "Studio Visit.” Studio: The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine, Summer/Fall 2013: 48.2009Brady, Shaun. “You Can’t Take It with You: Philadelphia Artists Explores the Transience of Nature in ‘Ephemerality’” (The Schuylkill Center exhibition review). Philadelphia City Paper, 27 January 2009: 25.2008Dyson, Torkwase. “A Piercing Look at the World.” Interview with Jessica Dawson. The Washington Post, 27 July 2008: C12.Dawson, Jessica. “Standing in the Shadow of the Silhouette Figure,” The Washington Post, 20 June 2008.Frederick, Helen, “She’s So Articulate: Black Women Artists Reclaim the Narrative” (Arlington Art Center exhibition review). Art Papers 32, no. 5 (September/October 2008): 54.2006Feaster, Felicia. “Talk About the Work.” Creative Loafing, 12 July 2006: 25.Feaster, Felicia. “Velocity of Gesture: Making Their Mark.” Creative Loafing, 14 February 2006: 36. Books and Catalogues 04-Dyson-Torkwase-Bibliography-Books.pdf 2020Drawing 2020 (exhibition catalogue). Text by Molly Nesbit. New York and Brussels, Köln, Germany: Gladstone Gallery, 2020: 50, illustrated.2019Torkwase Dyson - 1919: Black Water (exhibition booklet). Interviews with the artist by Mabel Wilson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Text by William Tuttle, Jr. New York: Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, Columbia University, 2019.2018The Last Place They Thought Of (exhibition leaflet). Philadelphia: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 2018.Out of Easy Reach (exhibition catalogue). Chicago: DePaul Art Museum; Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago; Rebuild Foundation, 2018.2015A Constellation (exhibition catalogue). New York: Studio Museum in Harlem, 2015.2012Ayokunle Odeleye: Thirty Two Years of Public Art. Texts by Leroy Clarke, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Torkwase Dyson, and Andrea Barnwell Brownlee. Stone Mountain, Georgia and Garland, Texas: Odeleye Sculpture Studios; Cenveo, 2012.2011Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists (exhibition catalogue). Edited by Michelle Joan Wilkinson. Baltimore: Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, 2011.2008She's so articulate: Black Women Artists Reclaim the Narrative (exhibition catalogue). Arlington: Arlington Arts Center, 2008.