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Wangechi Mutu's Fantastic Journey Wangechi Mutu : A Fantastic Journey 11 October 2013 – 9 March 2014 Brooklyn Museum , New York 18 April – 6 July 2014 Museum of Contemporary Art ( MOCA ) , North Miami Rivka Rass Wangechi Mutu ( b . Nairobi , Kenya , 1972 ) displays a surprising and intriguing exhibition of fifty large-scale works at Brooklyn Museum , including paintings , collages , sculptures , installations , and videos . Mutu came to New York to study art in the 1990 s and graduated from Yale University's art school . Considered the up-and-coming African-American artist right now in the American art world , Mutu is , in fact , one of about ten African-American women visual artists who have exhibited in the most prestigious American museums . Each one in her individual way addresses highly charged themes , such as racial and gender tensions , power struggles , sexuality , and identity . Each presents her unique perspective , color schemes , and array of forms in an attempt to shed light on the narrative of African-Americans in general , and the Black Woman's experience in particular . Among the African-American women artists who are enjoying considerable success are Carrie Mae Weems ( b . Oregon , 1953 ) , an art photographer for whom storytelling is a fundamental component ; Lorna Simpson ( b . Brooklyn , 1960 ) , who is a pioneer of conceptual photography ; Kara Walker ( b . California , 1969 ) , who is known for her room-size black cut-paper silhouettes ; Mickalene Thomas ( b . New Jersey , 1971 ) , who celebrates Black Beauty by painting larger-thanlife black women in gaudy colors ( these women crowded her large , one-woman show at Brooklyn Museum last year , which I reviewed in Terminal 49 ) . Unlike these artists , who were all born in the United States , Mutu came to the US from Kenya at the age of 19 . Although she acquired her art education in the US , her childhood was deeply immersed in African culture . Her large one-person show , which attracts many visitors to the Brooklyn Museum , presents work populated with richly-colored , bizarre creatures which resemble nothing ever seen . They seem to have sprung from ancient mythology , from strange fairy-tales , dreams , nightmares , or tribal culture . Enigmatic , exuding energy and strength , at the same time they are attractive and very colorful , forcing the viewer to linger in front of each work in order to "read " it and decode the artistic language , to figure out what it is they are observing . Mutu's creatures share some features with mythological animals . Some paintings are populated with fantastic vegetation , imaginary ֳ owers , and fabulous fruit . Her imagination runs free , and the result is intriguing . According to the New York Times , she is "inventing her own brand of exoticism . " One work , my favorite , carrying the long title Once upon a time she said , I'm not afraid and her enemies became afraid of her The End , has a creature in the figure of a woman-horse at its center , walking proudly and forcefully on her four legs , her hands ֳ ying sideways . This woman-horse , or female beast , is fierce , marching forward , ready to confront and overcome her enemies . She marches on the earth made of Mutu's favorite sculpture material : brown felt reminiscent of a military blanket , twisted , folded , and tied by packaging tape to create threedimensional forms . All her creatures are fierce and ready to charge forward , although it is often unclear whether they are female or male , and whether the densely colored texture is a garment or the creature's skin . Her brown felt installations wrap the two columns of the gallery , creating a bizarre tree-like installation , invading the ֳ oor with thick roots that resemble a monster's feet . Another installation , Suspended Playtime ( 2008 ) , features dozens of black balls wrapped in gold twine , suspended from the ceiling . A closer look reveals that the balls are made of black garbage bags . The installation refers to garbage turned into art , as well as to the common use of garbage bags as improvised balls and other toys used by poor children in Africa . In 2013 , Mutu's first ever animated video , The End of
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