It’s all in the mix.
Ralph Lemon’s Ceremonies Out of the Air opens at MoMA PS1 on Thursday, Nov. 14.
Patrons can expect to see more than 40 pieces and six collaborative monthly performances. That means dance, drawings, painting, photographs, sculpture, large-scale video installations, and whatever else happens. The exhibition’s centerpiece, Rant redux (2020–24), is a four-channel video-and-sound installation created with visual artist Kevin Beasley and based on the live performance Rant (2019–ongoing).
Born in Cincinnati but currently based in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Lemon began with painting, but quickly discovered dance. Then he added books, choreography, lecture, stage performances, and storytelling, among other genres. Using this mix, he emerged as one of the most significant figures in NYC’s downtown art scene in the 1990s.
The University of Minnesota graduate has held fellowships and residencies at Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University, Temple University, Princeton University, the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois, and the Museum of Modern Art. He also received a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant in 2020.
The 72-year-old’s work has been the subject of exhibitions at The Kitchen (2007/2015), Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans (2008), Studio Museum in Harlem (2012) and the Walker Art Center (2006, 2014, 2024). His works are in the permanent collections of such institutions as the Walker Art Center, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
New York State residents can attend Ceremonies Out of the Air for free, thanks to The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation. There’s a $10 suggested donation for others which drops to $5 for students and seniors. (All performances are free with RSVP.)
The experience, which will be live until March 24, 2025, was organized by MoMA PS1 Director Connie Butler and MoMA Department of Media and Performance Curator Thomas Lax with MoMA PS1 Assistant Curator Kari Rittenbach.
MoMA PS1 is located at 22-25 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City. If traveling by subway, take the E, M, or 7 to Court Sq or the G to Court Sq or 21St-Van Alst. If traveling by bus, take the Q67 to Jackson and 46th avenues or the B62 to 46th Avenue.
Images: Courtesy of MoMA PS1