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Titus Kaphar
Titus Kaphar at CitizenUCon17 - Reckoning With History - Panel Discussion.png
Kaphar in 2017
Born 1976 (age 48–49)
Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
Education San José State University
Yale University
Occupation Artist
Honours MacArthur Fellows Program

Titus Kaphar is an American artist who creates paintings and films. He is known for changing and updating art history to include stories and people from African-American history. His artworks are displayed in many famous museums, like the Museum of Modern Art and the Yale University Art Gallery.

About Titus Kaphar

Titus Kaphar was born in 1976 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He first learned about art in a college history class. He taught himself to paint by visiting museums and studying artworks. He earned his art degrees from San Jose State University in 2001 and Yale University. His art often mixes painting with sculpture. He sometimes cuts canvases or hangs them in new ways.

The Vesper Project

The Vesper Project is a special art display created by Kaphar. It tells the story of a made-up African-American family from the 1800s. This family chose to live as white people. Kaphar built a house that visitors could walk through. Inside, it was hard to tell what was real and what was a memory.

Kaphar got the idea for this project when he tried to paint his aunt. He realized some of his memories of her were not real. He said, "My brain had decided to put her into parts of my life when I needed extra help." This made him feel confused about his own memories.

The Vesper Project also came from a connection with a visitor to the Yale Art Gallery. This visitor, Benjamin Vesper, had a difficult experience at the gallery. Kaphar and Vesper started writing letters to each other. They wrote about their families and how memories can be tricky. Vesper later visited an old house, thinking it was his family's home. Kaphar wanted to create a real place for Vesper to explore his memories. This idea became The Vesper Project. The rooms in the project show pieces of memories and old paintings. Visitors can walk through these rooms and experience the story.

Time Magazine Artwork

In 2014, Time magazine asked Kaphar to create a painting. This painting was a response to the Ferguson Uprising. The artwork was a large oil painting, about 4 by 5 feet. Kaphar used his unique style of painting over his own work with white paint.

The painting is called Yet Another Fight for Remembrance. It shows two protesters with their hands raised. White paint streaks cover parts of their bodies and faces.

Behind the Myth of Benevolence

In 2014, Kaphar painted Behind the Myth of Benevolence. This painting shows President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Sally Hemings was an enslaved woman who had six children with Jefferson.

Kaphar painted the artwork so it looks like a curtain is being pulled back. This curtain reveals a portrait of Jefferson from 1800. Behind it, Sally Hemings is shown sitting. It's like a painting hidden inside another painting. Kaphar explained that the woman in his painting is not just Sally Hemings. She stands for many Black women whose stories have been hidden by history.

This painting was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.. The museum had to place security guards near the painting.

Exhibiting Forgiveness Film

Kaphar also directed his first full-length movie, called Exhibiting Forgiveness. The film stars actors like André Holland and Andra Day.

The movie first showed at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024. It is planned to be released to the public on October 18, 2024.

Art Exhibitions

Space to Forget 2014 Titus Kaphar
Space to Forget (2014) at the National Gallery of Art's showing of Afro-Atlantic Histories in 2022.

Kaphar has shown his art in many solo exhibitions. These shows have been in the United States and other countries. Some of his solo exhibitions include The House That Crack Built (2000) and The Jerome Project (2014). He also had The Vesper Project (2014) and Language of the Forgotten (2019).

Kaphar has also been part of many group exhibitions. These include The Black Index (2021) and Afro-Atlantic Histories (2022). His artwork, Shadows of Liberty (2016), was shown in Currents and Constellations: Black Art in Focus (2022). This artwork is a new version of an old painting of George Washington.

Famous Artworks in Museums

Awards and Honors

Kaphar has received many awards for his art.

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