On View February 28, 2026 - July 26, 2026

A colloquial shorthand that invokes muscles and showing off, especially among Black Americans, “flex” intends all the puns. It represents a masculinity for which manhood is not the equivalent, but rather a dynamic form of creative expression available to everyone, regardless of gender. The centerpiece of this exhibition is a historic Yoruba-style Ogboni emblem depicting a male and female figure bound together. Both figures are bearded, capturing this exhibition’s investigation of masculinity as, indeed, a flexible practice. 
FLEX surveys interconnected expressions of masculinities in Africa and its diaspora, and is organized into three thematic zones: Proverbial Expression, Style, and Masquerade. Sumptuous garments, grandiose portraits, and wooden masks convey masculinity’s highly performative and ritual dimensions. Works on paper and in brass speak to its associations with wealth, wisdom and speech, while other artworks explore narratives on labor, status, and sensuality. 

Curated by Cory K Gundlach (CKG) and Derek K Nnuro (DKN), selected objects feature a correspondence between the two curators.