Mattatuck Museum Presents “A Face Like Mine”: Featuring Kara Walker and Kerry James Marshall

The Mattatuck Museum’s new exhibition “A Face Like Mine” examines Black life by positioning African-American artists to depict their own lives and culture from the Harlem Renaissance to the present day. A Face Like Mine includes over 75 works of paintings, sculpture, prints, textiles, and photographs by artists Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson, James VanDerZee, and Kehinde Wiley and will explore themes such as identity, family, community, politics and performance. The exhibition is held in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the Mattatuck’s newly renovated and expanded facility in Waterbury, Connecticut..

A Face Like Mine is the second in a three-part exhibition series developed in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The MFA Boston is the lead museum from the Northeast cohort of the Art Bridges + Terra Foundation initiative. The initiative, wholly funded by Art Bridges, supports multi-year exhibition partnerships with the mission of expanding access to American art across the U.S. Additional financial support was provided by Art Bridges; Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP; Eversource Energy; Morgan Stanley, John T. Daddona, Vice President, Financial Advisor; Post University; TD Bank Charitable Foundation; and Torrco.

Rather than presenting the art chronologically, A Face Like Mine has arranged the works thematically. The diversity of the works within each theme will challenge visitors to transcend time and place to reflect on the ideas and messages within each work, drawing broader connections between them, and deepen viewers’ understanding of the Black experience in the United States.

By exhibiting artwork spanning 100 years, A Face Like Mine illustrates how the representation of the African-American experience has changed over time. The variety of scale and the changes in artistic practice are evident within each thematic division, enlivening the physical space and creating a dialogue between historic and contemporary artists.

A Face Like Mine has been organized by Dr. Cynthia Roznoy, Mattatuck Museum Curator, and Martina Tanga, Curatorial Research and Interpretation Associate at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Works from the MFA collection and the Mattatuck Museum are joined by selections from other institutions and private collectors. This exhibition also provides The Mattatuck Museum (The MATT) with an opportunity to highlight recent acquisitions that reflect its concerted efforts over the past six years to enhance its collection of African-American art and art created by women.