Cosmo Whyte

Jamaican artist Cosmo Whyte explores liminal spaces created by migration. He investigates the effects that leaving one culture behind and trying to assimilate to another has on the construction of identity. His personal experiences as a societally designated black man born in Jamaica act as a point of departure for his work, critiquing concepts of nation-building, migrant displacement, assimilation, appropriation, and the impact this complicated history has on diasporic communities.

Whyte’s process includes drawing, performance, sculpture, and installation. In his drawings, Whyte uses references to cultural identity through his use of gold leaf in order to explore displacement, the societal effects of mining gold, and the shaping of community through these histories. He mixes common objects with archival imagery and integrates elements of kitsch in his sculptural work as a way to consider the function of domestic spaces in relation to hospitality and the reality of the migrant experience.

Born in Jamaica in 1982, Whyte is now based in Atlanta, Georgia and Montego Bay, Jamaica. He received his MFA from the University of Michigan, his post-baccalaureate from Maryland Institute College of Art, and his BFA from Bennington College in Vermont. He has most recently exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta (2019); The Summerset House, London, UK (2019); 13th Havana Biennial Matanzas, Cuba (2019); The High Museum, Atlanta (2019); the Jamaica Biennial (2017) and Atlanta Biennial, Atlanta Contemporary (2016). Whyte has been the recipient of the Art Matters Award (2019), The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award (2019), the Working Artist Award (2018), The Drawing Center's Open Sessions Fellowship (2018), Artadia Award (2016), the International Sculpture Center’s “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award” (2015) and the Edge Award (2010). In 2021, Whyte will participate in Prospect 5, New Orleans.

Cosmo Whyte's exhibition is open to everyone free of charge. Visit the exhibition at Lux Art Institute by reserving a free time-slot reservation in advance of your visit.
Note: There will be no Open Hours from October 15-17th. Open Hours will resume as usual the following week.

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Want to learn more about Cosmo Whyte's exhibition at Lux No Longer Yours? Download our free digital exhibition catalog featuring images of the exhibition, details from the Executive Director, and an interview with the artist.

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Each date will examine a different work from the current exhibition of Cosmo Whyte

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 AT 11AM

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 AT 5PM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2 AT 12PM

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