María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold

It’s all about love. And the power of love to sustain.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, in an interview with The New York Times on Sept. 22, 2023

Still from When We Gather by María Magdalena Campos-Pons — María Magdalena Campos-Pons with Okwui Okpokwasili and LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs; with the participation of Dell Marie Hamilton, Jana Harper, Samita Sinha, and Lisa E. Harris. Directed by Codie Elaine Oliver. Still from *When We Gather*, 2021. Digital video (color, sound): 5 min., 43 sec. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. (Photo: courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold is a monographic exhibition of a visionary voice in photography, immersive installation, painting and performance. Spanning nearly four decades of visually engaging artworks, the exhibition explores Campos-Pons’s prescient and sensorial work—transporting viewers across geographies, mediums and spiritual practices. In her explorations of migration, diaspora and memory, Campos-Pons draws from her family story to examine the global histories of enslavement, indentured labor, motherhood and migration.

The first multimedia survey of the artist’s work since 2007, Behold highlights the artist’s dedication to creating new modes of understanding, as well as her engagement with interconnected historical and present-day challenges. These themes are examined through Campos-Pons’s performance-based practice and centering of Yoruba-derived Santería symbolism, as well as her work with communities in Boston, Cuba, Italy and Nashville (her current residence).

María Magdalena Campos-Pons strikes a pose within Behold at the Nasher Museum. Photo by Cornell Watson.

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Classic Creole, 2003. Composition of nine Polaroid Polacolor Pro photographs, framed: 29 × 25 in. (73.7 × 63.5 cm) each. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; acquired through the generosity of Jodi and Hal Hess. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. (Photo: courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris)
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Freedom Trap, 2013. Polaroid Polacolor Pro photograph, 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. (Photo: courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris)
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, The Calling, 2003. Diptych of Polaroid Polacolor Pro photographs, framed: approx. 24 × 44 in. (61 × 111.8 cm) overall. Collection of Jonathan and Barbara Lee. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. (Photo: courtesy of the artist)
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, She Always Knew of the Space in Between (detail), 2019. Gouache, watercolor, graphite, acrylic ink, peacock feather on archival paper, 63 × 32 in. (160 × 81.3 cm) each. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris.
Video by María Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard, Still from Baño Sagrado (Rite of Initiation, Sacred Bath), 1991. Single-channel video transferred from Super 8 film (color, sound): 31 min., 37 sec.; sound: composition for alto saxophone, bells, clay flute. Courtesy of the artists. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard. (Photo: courtesy of the artists)
Video by María Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard, Still from Baño Sagrado (Rite of Initiation, Sacred Bath), 1991. Single-channel video transferred from Super 8 film (color, sound): 31 min., 37 sec.; sound: composition for alto saxophone, bells, clay flute. Courtesy of the artists. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard. (Photo: courtesy of the artists)
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Red Composition, from the series Los Caminos (The Path), 1997. Triptych of Polaroid Polacolor Pro photographs, framed: approx. 37 × 29 in. (94 × 73.7 cm) each; approx. 37 × 87 in. (94 × 221 cm) overall. Collection of Wendi Norris. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of the artist.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Il pane è vita. Zucchero and company are good, 2006. CD covers, ink, watercolor, silver leaf, and collected paper wrappers on paper, 44 1/2 × 59 7/8 inches (113 × 152 cm). Galleria Giampaolo Abbondio, Milan. © María Magdalena Campos- Pons. Photo courtesy of Galleria Giampaolo Abbondio, Milan.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Miasma #7, 2020. Ink, watercolor on paper, 29 1/8 × 22 in. (74 × 55.9 cm ). Jorge M. Pérez Collection, Miami. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of the artist.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Soy Una Fuente (I Am a Fountain), 1990. Oil on board, clay tablets, dimensions variable, approx. 118 × 95 in. (299.7 × 241.3 cm). Detroit Institute of Arts. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, The One That Carried the Fire, 2011. Composition of three panels, human hair, watercolor on paper, 34 × 92 inches (86.4 × 233.7 cm) each. Collection of June Michel McCormack. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of the artist.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Floating between Temperature Zones, from the series Un Pedazo de Mar, 2019. Gouache, watercolor, graphite, ink on paper, 25 5/16 × 33 inches (64.3 × 83.8 cm). Leah Bennett, Private Collection. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris)
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Angel's Trumpets, Devil's Bells, 2019. Mixed media on archival paper. 120 × 78 × 2 in. (304.8 × 198.1 × 5.1 cm). Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, El Nacimiento de la Flor de Cardi, 2006. Gouache, graphite, watercolor, ink, woven threads, gold leaf on paper, approx. 99 × 56 3/4 inches, (251.5 × 144 cm). Collection of Debbie and Mitchell Rechler. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of Galleria Giampaolo Abbondio, Milan
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, When I Am Not Here / Estoy Allá, 1994. Polaroid Polacolor Pro photograph, 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm). Collection of Alejandro de la Fuente and Patricia Gonzalez. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Finding Balance, 2018. Composition of twenty-eight Polaroid Polacolor Pro photographs, approx. 105 1/2 × 159 1/4 inches (268 × 404 cm) overall. Miami, Jorge M. Pérez Collection. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of the artist.

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, De Las Dos Aguas (Of the Two Waters), 2007. Composition of twelve Polaroid Polacolor Pro photographs, framed: approx. 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm) each; approx. 80 x 90 in. (203.2 x 228.6 cm) overall. NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Florida; promised gift of David Horvitz and Francie Bishop Good. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Photo Gallery

Scenes from the Opening of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold

The Nasher Museum was thrilled to welcome friends and supporters from the Duke and Durham communities to celebrate the opening of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold. This new exhibition features four decades of w...

41 Images Published February 21, 2024

Campos-Pons is a nonstop artist for whom no medium — painting, assemblage, photography, video, ritual-like performance, even Murano glass — seems beyond reach. Her work has been featured in biennials on five continents. She has founded art spaces in the cities where she teaches. Fiercely loyal colleagues and ex-students participate in her performances and field her predawn phone calls sharing urgent ideas.
Siddhartha Mitter in The New York Times

Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Installation view of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.. February 15 – June 09, 2024. Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Photo by Brian Quinby.
Gallery Installation Photos by Brian Quinby

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, When I Am Not Here / Estoy Allá, Triptico I, 1996. Triptych of Polaroid Polacolor Pro photographs, 24 × 20 inches (61 × 50.8 cm) each. Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. Purchase, R. H. Norton Trust, 99.92.1-3. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Photo courtesy of Norton Museum of Art.

National tour

María Magdalena Campos-Pons Untitled — María Magdalena Campos-Pons, *Untitled*, from the series *Un Pedazo de Mar*, 2019. Gouache, watercolor, graphite ink on paper, framed: 30 × 22 in. (76.2 × 55.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Giampaolo Abbondio, Milan. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. (Photo: courtesy of Gallery Wendi Norris)

The exhibition opened at the Brooklyn Museum and begins a national tour that includes the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University; the Frist Art Museum, Nashville, Tennessee; and the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, Los Angeles, California.

Organization and Support

María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold is organized by the Brooklyn Museum and the J. Paul Getty Museum. The exhibition is curated by Carmen Hermo, Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum, and Mazie Harris, Assistant Curator, Department of Photographs, J. Paul Getty Museum, with Jenée-Daria Strand, former Curatorial Associate, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum.

At the Nasher Museum, this exhibition is made possible by the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Fund for Exhibitions; the J. Horst and Ruth Mary Meyer Fund; the Prakash and Anjali Melwani Fund; the Derek and Christen Wilson Fund for the Nasher Museum of Art; the Frank Edward Hanscom Endowment; and the Marilyn M. Arthur Fund.

Scenes from the Opening of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold

Gallery Installation Photos by Brian Quinby

National tour

Organization and Support

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Scenes from the Opening of María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold