ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold at Brooklyn Museum

exhibition · 2026-04-27

The Brooklyn Museum presents 'Behold', a major solo exhibition of Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, curated by the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. The Cuban-born, Nashville-based artist (b. 1959, Matanzas) has worked for over four decades across photography, installation, painting, and performance to trace a decolonized history. The show gathers works that explore African roots, Cuban heritage, and American domicile, addressing themes of slavery, migration, matriarchal cultures, and Yoruba religion. Campos-Pons uses Polaroid altarpieces, indigo grids, and glass vessels to evoke the ocean as a site of memory and regeneration, linking the transatlantic slave trade to contemporary migrations. The exhibition runs through January 14, 2024, at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.

Key facts

  • Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons was born in Matanzas, Cuba in 1959 and resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • The exhibition is titled 'Behold' and is curated by the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.
  • The show includes photographs, installations, paintings, videos, and drawings.
  • Campos-Pons' work addresses decolonization, slavery, migration, and matriarchal cultures.
  • The ocean is a recurring motif, representing regeneration and memory.
  • Indigo and red grids screen female faces, connecting to slave trade history.
  • Glass vessels reference sugar mill machinery and rum distilleries tied to Cuban slavery.
  • The exhibition is on view at the Brooklyn Museum until January 14, 2024.

Entities

Artists

  • Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
  • Judy Chicago

Institutions

  • Brooklyn Museum
  • Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
  • Artribune

Locations

  • Matanzas
  • Cuba
  • Nashville
  • Tennessee
  • New York
  • Brooklyn
  • 200 Eastern Parkway

Sources