Cherry: Khalif Tahir Thompson

Organized by Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture.

Cherry, Khalif Tahir Thompson's first institutional solo exhibition in the United States, features eight large-scale paintings that explore themes related to identity, memory, and emotion. Imbued with a sense of nostalgia yet charged with a contemporary energy that bridges the tangible and the imagined, Thompson creates layered compositions that invite viewers into intimate spaces, drawing from the artist's personal experiences, family archives, and broader cultural narratives.

Cherry invites viewers to explore how identity is remembered, shared, and reimagined, celebrating the complex layers of human experience. This exhibition weaves together personal and historical narratives, from the vibrant influence of African textiles to the rich history of Harlem, into an ever-evolving mélange of meaning.

Best recognized for his powerful portraiture and figurative work, Khalif Tahir Thompson (b. 1995, lives in New York) incorporates painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, and papermaking into his practice while exploring notions of self through the scopes of race, sexuality, and spirituality. He earned an MFA in Painting/Printmaking from Yale University School of Art, following a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Purchase College, and completed a fellowship at the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in NYC, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Jerome Emerging Artist residency at The Anderson Center. He is a 2022 resident of Black Rock Senegal, founded by Kehinde Wiley.

He is represented by Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery, where he presented his first solo exhibition in Europe at Zidoun-Bossuyt Luxembourg in September 2023, a solo exhibition in Dubai in 2023, and Paris in 2024. His work is on view at Saint Louis Art Museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City), The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), and Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. After participating at The Royal Drawing School at Dumfries House, Scotland, Thompson joined the AAF/Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts, Austria (2023). In 2024, the Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery edited the artist’s first monograph with Skira editions. As part of his gallery’s participation at The Armory Show 2024, Khalif Tahir Thompson presented his first solo exhibition in New York City.