Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics and International Business at New York University's Stern School of Business | New York University's Stern School of Business
Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics and International Business at New York University's Stern School of Business | New York University's Stern School of Business
Lyle Ashton Harris, a prominent artist known for his self-portraits, photography, and assemblages, was observed at work in his Chelsea studio recently. Harris examined a strip of negatives from his Constructs series with assistant Benji Hsu and intern Melia Chendo. “These are from the Constructs series, from 1989. They were seminal works in the Whitney show ‘Black Male,’ curated by Thelma Golden,” Harris explained.
The photographs will be included in The 80s: Photographing Britain exhibition at Tate Britain, where Harris will be the only non-British artist featured. The show runs from November 21 to May 5, 2025.
Harris’s work is currently displayed in Our First and Last Love at the Queens Museum until September 22. Co-curated by Caitlin Julia Rubin and Lauren Haynes, this solo exhibition features over 40 works spanning 35 years. It includes pieces dating back to the late 1980s through his most recent Shadow Works series.
Praised by The New York Times as a “groundbreaking Black portrait artist,” Harris uses nudity, guns, masks, photographs, and ephemera to explore his identity as a queer Black man and societal constructs of race and gender. His works have been exhibited at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, Guggenheim Museum, Studio Museum of Harlem, and Tate museum.
Reflecting on his art practice during an interview with NYU News amidst being honored at the Queens Museum’s annual gala, Harris remarked on how thematic elements persist throughout his work. "We decided to do a thematic show and use the Shadow Works series as the anchor," he said. He elaborated that themes like family, desire, and intimacy are consistent across decades of his art.
Born in Bronx in 1965 but raised partly in Dar es Salaam before returning to New York for higher education at Wesleyan University followed by an MFA from California Institute for Arts (CalArts), Harris began teaching in 2005 when invited to start NYU's Accra program in Ghana. He has since remained part of NYU's Steinhardt School faculty.
Harris emphasized that teaching influences his art profoundly: “This is the way I work... it keeps me young.” His pedagogical approach is nontraditional and highly interactive: “I focus on experience; I see it as a laboratory.”
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