Jun 25, 2026, 6 PM – 8 PM

Opening Reception: Certainly an Act: Works on Paper by Pope.L

Join us for a reception to celebrate the opening of Certainly an Act: Works on Paper by Pope.L

Certainly an Act brings together more than two-hundred works by Pope.L—many never before publicly exhibited—ranging from the early 1980s to the artist’s final years. Drawn primarily from the artist’s estate, the exhibition also encompasses drawing-based films, writings, archival materials, and audio drawings. Together, these works argue for a practice in which drawing was neither preparatory nor peripheral, but was a central, expansive and generative aspect of Pope.L’s work.

The opening reception is free and open to the public; registration is not needed for entry.

Pope.L

Pope.L (1955–2023) was a groundbreaking interdisciplinary artist whose provocative, conceptually driven work spanned performance, installation, painting, sculpture, and drawing. Born in Newark, NJ, Pope.L trained as a playwright before earning his MFA at Rutgers University. This background brought a narrative and theatrical sensibility to a practice rooted in absurdity, endurance, and confrontation. Best known for his grueling crawl performances—such as The Great White Way (2001–2009)—and his biting text-based works, including the long-running Skin Set series, Pope.L exposed the contradictions of race, language, and class in American life. As a professor at Bates College and later at the University of Chicago, he mentored generations of artists who were inspired by his interventionist critique and an engagement with public spaces. His legacy is one of radical inquiry—an unrelenting interrogation of language, power, failure, identity, and the absurdity of contemporary society.

Lead support for Certainly an Act: Works on Paper by Pope.L is provided by Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis. Generous funding is provided by Jill and Peter Kraus, Sarah Arison, and Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg. Additional support is provided by Gladstone; Hilary and Peter Hatch, Bernard Lumpkin and Carmine Boccuzzi, Modern Art, London, Adam Pendleton and Karsten Ch'ien, Vielmetter, Los Angeles, Timur Galen and Linda Genereux, the Hudgins Family, and Ann and Mel Schaffer.

Special thanks to the Estate of Pope.L and Mitchell-Innes & Nash.