Torkwase Dyson describes herself as a painter working across multiple mediums to explore the continuity between ecology, infrastructure, and architecture.
Examining the history and future of black spatial liberation strategies, Dyson’s abstract works grapple with the ways in which space is perceived and negotiated, particularly by black and brown bodies. The artist has distilled a vocabulary of poetic forms to address the spaciousness of freedom and question what type of climates are born out of world building.
Dyson studied sociology, social work, and fine arts at Tougaloo College in Mississippi (1996), received a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia (1999), and an MFA from the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut (2003). She has held solo exhibitions at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago (2018); The Drawing Center, New York (2018); New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana (2020); Serpentine Galleries, London (2021); Hall Art Foundation, Schloss Derneburg, Germany (2021); Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri (2023); and ‘T’ Space, Rhinebeck, New York (2023), among others. Dyson was also part of the 13th Shanghai Biennale (2021); 12th Liverpool Biennial, United Kingdom (2023); 12th Seoul Mediacity Biennale, Seoul Museum of Art (2023); and the 81st Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2024). In May 2025, the artist debuted Akua, her first major installation with sound in New York City, at Brooklyn Bridge Park, commissioned by the Public Art Fund. Dyson also created the conceptual design for Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, the Costume Institute’s Spring 2025 exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which traced the cultural and historical significance of the Black Dandy from the 18th century to the present day. In 2026, Dyson participated in the 59th Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (on view through January 3, 2027), debuted a new installation at the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (on view through November 22, 2026), and will present a solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (opening October 17).
Dyson’s work is held in notable public collections worldwide, including The Art Institute of Chicago; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Long Museum, Shanghai; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others.
Source: Pace Gallery Website
