MacArthur Fellow Ebony G. Patterson to open UK Gaines Center’s ‘Origins’ series
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 11, 2025) — Internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Ebony G. Patterson, recipient of a 2024 MacArthur Genius Grant, will return to the University of Kentucky this fall as part of the Gaines Center for the Humanities’ 2025-26 theme year, “Origins.”
On Oct. 23, Patterson will be joined in conversation by Stuart Horodner, director of the UK Art Museum, at the Singletary Center for the Arts. The free, public event begins at 6 p.m. in the Singletary Center Concert Hall, and will serve as the kickoff to a year of programming exploring the many meanings of origins — from personal and cultural beginnings to the foundations of nations, technologies and ecosystems. Registration is required.
“We are incredibly honored to be bringing Ebony G. Patterson to the University of Kentucky this year,” said Gaines Center Director Michelle Sizemore. “As one of the premier visual artists of our time, her pieces appear in museums all over the world, and we have the chance to hear her speak live on campus about her process, inspirations and the relationship of her work to the topic of origins. Patterson’s art engages with the history of colonialism and its legacies both thematically and formally, encouraging viewers to look at her work and the world more closely and deeply.”
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Patterson has become one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary art. Her large-scale, neo-baroque installations weave together vibrant textiles, glitter-encrusted surfaces, sprawling tapestries, video and natural motifs to create immersive environments that both dazzle and unsettle. Her work often addresses issues of visibility and invisibility, violence, masculinity and the complex legacies of colonialism in both Jamaica and global Black youth culture.
Patterson’s exhibitions have been staged at institutions across the world, including the National Gallery of Jamaica, Alice Yard in Trinidad, Louisville’s Speed Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2019, her solo exhibition at the Speed, “…while the dew is still on the roses…”, transformed galleries into a lush night garden of silk flowers, dense greenery and richly adorned works — a project that drew national attention. More recently, she was commissioned by the New York Botanical Garden to create a site-specific installation featuring glitter-encrusted vultures and interactive video elements, which The New York Times praised as “a triumph.”
For Patterson, the UK appearance is also a homecoming. From 2007 to ’18, she served as a faculty member in UK’s School of Art and Visual Studies, mentoring students while developing her own internationally recognized practice. Many of her former students recall her as both a rigorous teacher and an advocate for harnessing creativity as a form of social engagement.
Horodner will moderate the event.
“I am very happy to have been asked to interview Ebony and encourage her to share thoughts on her creative practice — from her influences, subject matter and process, to her experiences exhibiting her works and co-curating prominent exhibitions,” he said. “I have no doubt it will be a lively and meaningful conversation.”
The Gaines Center’s theme year “Origins” coincides with the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary, inviting the campus and community to consider how beginnings shape identities, institutions and futures. The event is supported by the University of Kentucky and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This event is free and open to the public, though registration is required. Register at the event website.
Founded in 1984 by a generous gift from John and Joan Gaines, the Gaines Center for the Humanities functions as a laboratory for imaginative and innovative education on UK’s campus. The center is devoted to cultivating an appreciation of the humanities in its students and faculty. The Gaines Center embraces varied paths of knowledge and particularly strives to integrate creative work with traditional academic learning.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.