This ongoing landmark installation – one of the artist’s most seminal bodies of work – comprises a series of library environments consisting of thousands of books bound in Dutch wax print, created by Yinka Shonibare over several years. The first three Library collections explore ideas of migration, citizenship, and notions of home across the United Kingdom, the United States, and Africa. In 2024, Shonibare unveiled The War Library in his Serpentine exhibition Suspended States, representing both conflict and peace treaties. Over the years, Shonibare’s Library has been presented at numerous institutions globally, including Tate Modern; Museu Afro Brasil, São Paulo; Turner Contemporary, Margate; and it has been shown as part of the Diaspora Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017. Presented jointly by both galleries for the first time, this iteration of the Library collections echoes the global scope of Shonibare’s project and underscores the importance of cross-institutional partnerships in expanding access to complex installations. In 2026, Shonibare will have several to-be-announced museum exhibitions across the globe, including a major commission debuting at JFK Airport in New York in 2026.

ABOUT ARTISTS : Ana Cláudia Almeida, Tonico Lemos Auad, Jonathan Baldock, Sarah Ball, Caroline Coon, Kenturah Davis, Alexandre Diop, Andreas Eriksson, Denzil Forrester, Kendell Geers, Sky Glabush, Wayne Gonzales, Hulda Guzmán, Holly Hendry, Jim Hodges, Ilona Keserü, Deborah Roberts, Anne Rothenstein, Yinka Shonibare, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Caroline Walker, Clare Woods, Yooyun Yang, Luiz Zerbini

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In our American show, leading galleries from five continents show significant works by masters of Modern and contemporary art, as well as the new generation of emerging stars.

mpefm USA fair art press release