NADA Miami 2023

Nyeema Morgan’s “Soft Power. Hard Margins.” adds a sculptural aspect to the combination of image and text. Inspired by Adrian Piper’s assertion that “the right to freedom of expression is a permission, granted by the state, to engage in certain activities,” Morgan created a series of neoclassical, partially gilded frames in cast resin. Each is internally illuminated, framing a canonical work of art obscured by a sheet of frosted Plexiglas into which she etches the “permission” granted by the work. The inherently unstable relationships between the elements of each work (size, frame, fragmented text, and partially-obscured image) complicates their legibility and requires the viewer—whatever the particularities of their identity and history—to contend with the ambiguous nature of artistic legacy and “greatness,” authorship, and cultural inheritance.

To ensure the formal and conceptual integrity of all aspects of “Soft Power. Hard Margins.” works from this series are made available in groups of two or more works of varying sizes. At NADA Miami 2023, the gallery is pleased to offer a trio of works selected by the artist. Individually, the works vary in size from 18.5 x 15.5 x 3 inches to 44 x 31 x 3 inches.