Steffani Jemison

Joan is pleased to present End Over End, an exhibition of recent videos and sculptures by Brooklyn-based, Cincinnati-raised artist, Steffani Jemison. Much of Jemison’s work is concerned with histories of Black performance in vernacular traditions such as pantomime and vaudeville, and the intersections of these practices with early film history. Drawing on archival movement research, her work bears witness to the ways in which knowledge is held and transferred from body to body, to the present.

Many of the works in this exhibition were conceived during the recent period of pandemic and protest. Two videos, Toss (2021) and In Succession (2019), which incorporate rhythmic gymnastics and street acrobatics, respectively, are joined by a series of kinetic rock tumbler sculptures and drawings on glass that together consider the conceptual and material implications of the acts of agitation and turning.

This exhibition is an iteration of an earlier presentation that took place last year at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, curated by Amara Antilla.

Steffani Jemison was born in 1981 in Berkeley, CA, and raised in Cincinnati, OH. A professor of Art & Design at Rutgers University, Jemison’s first novel will be published by Primary Information later this year. Since 2016, she has been a part of the musical collaborative, Mikrokosmos, with Justin Hicks. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions and special projects at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (2021); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2019); Nottingham Contemporary (2018); Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA; Jeu de Paume, Paris (both 2017); RISD Museum, Providence (2015); and LAXART, Los Angeles (2013), among other venues. She has also been included in numerous group exhibitions, including Greater New York at MoMA PS1 (2021) and the Whitney Biennial (2019), as well as at venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (both 2019); the Drawing Center, New York (2015); and the Studio Museum in Harlem (2012). Jemison currently lives and works in Brooklyn.