Lehmann Maupin announces I’ll Take You There; A Proclamation, an exhibition of new work by acclaimed New York City-based artist Nari Ward. Ranging in scale from the monumental to the domestic, Ward creates sculptures and installations composed from discarded material found and collected in his Harlem neighborhood, including repurposed objects such as baby strollers, shopping carts, bottles, keys, cash registers, and shoelaces, among other materials. Ward re-contextualizes these found objects in thought-provoking juxtapositions that create complex, metaphorical meanings and confront social and political issues surrounding race, gentrification, and community, intentionally leaving the meaning of his work open to allow viewers to construct their own interpretations. For this exhibition, the artist’s sixth solo presentation with Lehmann Maupin, Ward has created four text-based works constructed from shoelaces, two large-scale sculptural installations, a video work, and a series of new copper panels.

Perennial themes of memorial, remembrance, and societal relationships have permeated Ward’s practice—from his early, now iconic installation Amazing Grace (1993), composed of discarded fire hoses and hundreds of abandoned baby strollers, to the work he is creating today. In I’ll Take You There; A Proclamation, ideas of commemoration, community, and the reclamation of public space are explored through the medium of public streets. Inspired by the many sidewalk memorials that sprang up during the Covid-19 pandemic in the absence of places where people traditionally mourn, which were closed or restricted due to public health concerns, many pieces incorporate the candles, teddy bears, and liquor bottles often found at these sites. In each work, Ward nimbly combines elements of the artist studio, the art world, and street life to invite reevaluations of these spaces and emphasize the inherent fluidity and interconnection that exists between them.