Exhibitions
Abigail Lucien, the memory of iron
The Art Institute of Chicago presents Abigail Lucien: Blood of the Earth , a solo exhibition of Haitian-American artist Abigail Lucien, on view from June 18, 2026, to January 25, 2027. Through an immersive installation and a new series of sculptures, Lucien investigates the multiple relationships that iron establishes with history, the material world, and human experience.
Iron has occupied a central place in Lucien's practice for years. Its origin dates back to the explosions of stars, and on Earth, it constitutes an essential part of its core. It is also part of our own bodies: it circulates in the blood and, at the same time, is present in countless everyday objects, technologies, and structures that make up our environment.
In Blood of the Earth , the artist approaches iron as a material capable of connecting seemingly distant scales, from the terrestrial to the cosmic. But she also understands it as a vehicle for exploring social narratives, artisanal traditions, and experiences linked to the diaspora. In the Caribbean, ornate iron gates and railings are part of the everyday landscape, while in various regions of Africa, iron forging is conceived as a sacred space of creation.
Lucien's new sculptures extend these traditions through processes, typologies, and iconographies linked to artisanal practices and diasporic experiences. The exhibition is structured as a speculative creative space, open to transformation and new possibilities.
Among the pieces that make up the installation are a furnace, bellows, an anvil, and other tools typical of a metalworking workshop. The ensemble evokes an active workspace, animated by the vital force of iron. The material thus becomes both protagonist and metaphor: when heated, it can acquire a malleable and viscous condition; it can be forged, welded, cast in molds, or subjected to chemical treatments to be engraved. It can also be transformed into steel through the addition of carbon.
For Lucien, these material processes constitute something more than mere sculptural techniques. Iron's capacity to change state and adopt new forms functions as an image of adaptability and the transient nature of belonging. Matter thus becomes a means of reflecting on identity, memory, displacement, and transformation.
The exhibition is curated by Irene Sunwoo, John H. Bryan Chair and curator of Architecture and Design at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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