Glenn Ligon is best known for his text-based works, which draw on the words of seminal writers such as Zora Neale Hurston and James Baldwin to explore the complexities of American history and the construction of racial identities. Many are featured in this exhibition at the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, which looks at the last 35 years of Ligon’s career (20 September–2 March 2025). Curated in collaboration with the artist, the show sprawls throughout the Fitzwilliam, responding to its permanent collection; in the Upper Marlay galleries, for example, Ligon has paired one of his drawings, Untitled (Study for Negro Sunshine), with the Fitzwilliam’s Adoration of the Kings (c. 1520). Ligon’s neon works are also a focal point of the exhibition; the nine-part neon light installation Waiting for the Barbarians (2021), making its first appearance in the UK, is situated in the portico of the museum.
Find out more from the Fitzwilliam’s website.
Untitled (I Feel Most Colored When I Am Thrown Against a Sharp White Background) (1990), Glenn Ligon. Courtesy De Ying Foundation; © the artist
Study for Negro Sunshine (Red) #15 (2019), Glenn Ligon. Courtesy De Ying Foundation; © the artist
Untitled (Condition Report for Black Rage) Photo: Tom Powel Imaging; courtesy the artist/Hauser & Wirth, New York/Regen Projects, Los Angeles/Thomas Dane Gallery, London/Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris; © the artist