Arts + Literature Laboratory presents Recast… When Things Break, a solo exhibition featuring the work of Tinuade Oyelowo, on view Tuesday, April 28 through Saturday, June 20, 2026.
This exhibition was organized by the community curation project, LAB^4. A reception for all LAB^4 exhibitions will be held on Friday, May 8, 2026 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.
Join us again for a closing reception on Friday, June 20, 2026 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
"Recast... When Things Break, " explores the "bloodlines" of African American identity—specifically the tenacity of the immigrant experience and the grit of the American South. Oyelowo's work exists at the meeting point of these two histories, seeking a definition of healing from generational trauma.
"Rooted in my experience growing up in Florida, the work interprets the psychological landscapes born from the persistent anxiety of 'being in the right place' as a Black person. This tension is shaped by my dual heritage: the daughter of an immigrant and a mother who is a Southern Black woman. By adopting an Afrofuturist approach, the work looks forward without discarding the weight of what came before, reimagining these anxieties as a site of potential and transformation."
"I utilize a specific material language to evoke the Black body without rendering it explicitly. This 'invisible existence' serves as a metaphor for history itself: a presence that is undeniable even when it is not recognized."
Recast... When Things Break
Tinuade Oyelowo is a Nigerian American multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn whose practice moves across performance, installation, sculpture, and visual art. Rooted in the reclamation of the Black body, her work explores untold histories through the intersecting lenses of race, gender, political oppression, environmental decline, and class. Working from open ended questions, Oyelowo creates pieces that hold tension, memory, and transformation at once.
She earned a BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Original Works from Cornish College of the Arts and later received an MFA from Brooklyn College’s PIMA Graduate Program.
Oyelowo has exhibited throughout New York at venues including Trestle Gallery, Clemente Soto Vélez Gallery, Art@Renaissance Gallery, Recession Art Gallery, 7 Dunham Gallery, and Brooklyn Open Studios. She was a 2015 Wassaic Project resident, installation residency at 5 Myles Gallery, and in 2022 presented digital work through the Roots Hotel... Read More
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.
Our galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.