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Nefertiti - Miles Davis (Gold)

Awol Erizku American
2022
Not on view
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in the Bronx, Awol Erizku is a multidisciplinary artist who works in photography, film, sculpture, and installation. Images of the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti (Dynasty 18, Amarna Period, ca. 1353–1336 BCE) are a recurrent motif in the expansive iconography that Erizku has employed since the beginning of his artistic career. Drawing from sources such as "urban" culture, advertising, and the art historical canon, he addresses race, identity, and contested histories. When on view, the dazzling Nefertiti–Miles Davis (Gold), a mirrored bust of Nefertiti, is suspended from the ceiling and rotates like a disco-ball. It draws inspiration from jazz trumpeter Miles Davis’s 1968 album Nefertiti and embodies the nexus of music and visual art expressing African diasporic claims to ancient Egypt as a source of self-empowerment.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Nefertiti - Miles Davis (Gold)
  • Artist: Awol Erizku (American, born Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1988)
  • Date: 2022
  • Medium: Hard coated foam and mirror tile
  • Edition: 4/5 + 2 artist's proofs
  • Dimensions: 30 × 25 × 15 in. (76.2 × 63.5 × 38.1 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman, 2026
  • Object Number: 2026.300a–c
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Awol Erizku, Courtesy Ben Brown Fine Arts
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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