“For me, beauty is as much about how it appears as what it signifies; its meaning is something I claim and create for myself. I craft beauty as a mirror—abstract, complex, and subjectively marvelous—reflecting the people and culture that shaped me.”

— Cecil McDonald, Jr.

Cecil McDonald, Jr.: The American Beauty is the first U.S. survey exhibition presentation of the work of Cecil McDonald, Jr. (b. 1965, Chicago, Illinois), whose photography explores the intersections of masculinity, familial relations, and black culture’s artistic and intellectual pursuits, particularly as this culture intersects with and informs the larger culture. Through photography, video, and dance/performance, he investigates and questions the norms and customs governing our understanding of each other, our families, and the myriad societal struggles and triumphs.

This exhibition includes over two decades of work encompassing photography, montage, film, and a video installation titled, Praise House:  We All Shine. In Praise House, McDonald reimagines a modest antebellum structure that offered shelter and privacy for prayer, plotting, and celebration for enslaved people. McDonald refigures this vernacular typology as a utopian space of healing, inspiration, and creativity.  

Curated by Kilolo Luckett, Executive Director and Chief Curator of ALMA | LEWIS, the exhibition will be accompanied by a series of free public programs and events.