Paul Mpagi Sepuya Opens First German Museum Survey at Sprengel Museum Hannover
"Paul Mpagi Sepuya. Focus. Desire," the first significant solo exhibition of the American photographer in Germany, will take place at the Sprengel Museum Hannover from July 1 to October 4, 2026. This exhibition, organized in collaboration with Fotomuseum Winterthur, showcases both early and contemporary works, as well as items from Sepuya's archive. Curator Stefan Gronert highlights the relational aspects of Sepuya's art. This marks Sepuya's second major survey, following a 2019 display at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Originally from San Bernardino, California, he currently resides in Los Angeles and teaches at UC San Diego. In 2024, Aperture will release Dark Room A-Z. Sepuya began his photographic journey in 1998 and attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts from 2000 to 2004.
Key facts
- "Paul Mpagi Sepuya. Focus. Desire" runs July 1 to October 4, 2026 at Sprengel Museum Hannover
- It is the first major solo museum exhibition in Germany for Sepuya
- The exhibition was developed with Fotomuseum Winterthur and includes archival material
- Stefan Gronert curated, describing images as emerging from relationships rather than a singular gaze
- Sepuya's prior survey was at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in 2019, covering 2006–2018 work
- Aperture published Dark Room A-Z in 2024, examining the 2016–21 Dark Room series
- Sepuya teaches at UC San Diego and jurors the La Jolla Athenaeum 34th Annual Juried Exhibition
- He is represented by Vielmetter Los Angeles, DOCUMENT Chicago, Bortolami New York, and Galerie Peter Kilchmann Zürich and Paris
Entities
Artists
- Paul Mpagi Sepuya
- Wolfgang Tillmans
- Michael Fried
- Stefan Gronert
- Elliott Linwood
Institutions
- Sprengel Museum Hannover
- Fotomuseum Winterthur
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
- Vielmetter Los Angeles
- DOCUMENT
- Bortolami
- Galerie Peter Kilchmann
- Aperture
- UC San Diego
- La Jolla Athenaeum
- New York University
- Tisch School of the Arts
- Studio Museum in Harlem
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Lenscratch
- BUTT
Locations
- Hanover
- Germany
- Winterthur
- Switzerland
- St. Louis
- Missouri
- San Bernardino
- California
- Los Angeles
- New York
- La Jolla
- San Diego
- Chicago
- Zürich
- Paris