Antwaun Sargent on Establishing a Mutualism Between Artist and Curator
Words by Chloe Borich | Photography by Brigitte Lacombe
Antwaun Sargent is interested in art that stands the test of time. Art that resists, challenges and survives the cyclical swing of the pendulum. The New York-based curator, writer and a director of the Gagosian network of galleries is recognised for cultivating the careers of the next generation of Black artists and, in turn, refreshing and elevating the institutions that take them on. Ushering in a new era of legacies through exhibition making, catalogue texts and publications, Sargent’s curatorial advocacy is anchored by tangible references and lasting opportunities for an ever-growing network of exceptional talent.
When I call Sargent, his profile picture flickers onto my phone screen. Contrary to his signature tailored silhouette – typically finished with a classic Esenshel ‘Russian Cuff Hat’ – the outfit he’s wearing in the photograph depicts a curator incognito: dark sunglasses, hoodie, and beanie, puffed just so. I’m yet to see an image of him that doesn’t exude sartorial effortlessness. Conscious of our allotted time, I resist the temptation to ask Sargent what he’s wearing in person.
Instead, our conversation begins with his childhood in Chicago. Growing up in a robust arts and literary scene, it was magazines that captured Sargent’s early imagination and introduced him to the coalescing worlds of art and fashion. Taken by the pages of publications such as i-D, he and his friends began making their own. Eventually, Sargent’s formative fascination with print media would lead him to develop a successful career as a freelance writer and critic, starting with a Huffington Post blog and going on to land pitches with household magazine names, including Dazed, Interview, The New Yorker, The New York Times and American Vogue.
From worldbuilding on pages and screens to inside gallery and museum rooms, for Sargent it was a natural evolution from writing to curating. “I always say that curating is writing with objects,” he says. “You’re trying to tell a story; you’re trying to make sure the artist’s intention and point of view are made known through the visualisation of the object. I think for me, that relationship has been particularly important. Because when you’re a writer, your primary role is to listen, and after interviewing hundreds of artists, you get a sense of what the creative process is for each of them. However, through that process, you also start to build your own ideas about what is possible. For me, these interactions with artists really help to shape and challenge my worldviews.”
Informed by over a decade of conversations with artists, Sargent edited two landmark publications, The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion (2019) with Aperture and Young, Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists (2020), both of which were accompanied by exhibitions of the same name. These projects solidified his position as a key educator and facilitator, introducing work created through a youthful Black lens to audiences both within and outside the art world.
“I’d been seeing all of these young artists making these works outside of traditional museums, galleries, magazines and books, just publishing them digitally online, or making their own shows in their apartments. I thought that was a story that needed to be told,” shares Sargent. “They were looking toward the past, but in some ways more importantly, they were focused on a future [art] making that involved them and allowed them to add their names and perspectives to the record in the canon.”
Several of the artists featured in the two publications have since gone on to receive widespread recognition, gallery representation and major museum shows – including Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Awol Erizku, Eric N. Mack, Tyler Mitchell, Ruth Ossai and Mickalene Thomas. While they may be some of the most exciting names making contemporary art today, Sargent says he is more concerned about them all maintaining momentum into the future.
“For me, what’s important is that those committed to this work stay committed to the work, and that the artists continue to make the work,” he explains. “[It’s about] finding platforms to show the work and to support an artist across a career – it might be an exhibition or publishing, but are those moments sustained? I’m interested in the sustaining of those perspectives and practices across an artist’s career. Because I think that’s what we all grapple with. The art world is not just about giving someone a first show – what about the fifth show? My focus is on longevity.”
For artists to build an enduring career, Sargent emphasises the importance of developing an autonomous studio practice, independent of a relationship to a gallery. “I know that’s a weird thing to say, but I say it because artists’ careers are long and there are these moments, particularly in the mid-career, where sometimes artists stall out or want to change directions,” he says. “I think if you instil a solid studio foundation and the community around your work, then when you’re changing directions and thinking through new possibilities around the work, you’re able to do that in a self-sustaining way. Because sometimes the critics don’t get it, museums don’t get it, galleries don’t get it. But the thing that needs to be solid is an artist’s belief in themselves.”
The foundations that Sargent encourages artists to lay extend to his own responsibility to do so as a caretaker, fostering relationships with critical groundwork. “I’m pro-artist, and for me that means really listening to the artist and allowing them to guide the process, to grapple with the artist to bring their ideas out,” he explains. “In the writing, curating and gallery work, it’s always been about: How do we get to the highest expression of this idea?”
Having supported Tyler Mitchell since the beginning of his career, working with Rick Lowe and Derrick Adams at Gagosian, Sargent attributes their ability to flourish, evolve and change alongside the global conversation not only to a deep understanding of the work, but to establishing a mutualism between artist and curator.
“For me, it’s artist first in every way. That’s really liberating, and at times also really frustrating. But that’s the foundational, guiding idea for me – how to ensure that they’re making work they want to make, but also thinking about some of the questions we’ve raised today,” he elaborates. “It needs to be an honest dialogue going back and forth. It doesn’t mean we don’t disagree, it doesn’t mean I roll over and say ‘Yes’. It’s about distributing a really robust engagement about what the artist wants to achieve. It requires a lot of listening, it requires a lot of soundboarding about where they want to go.”
Working with multiple artists for group projects presents another dynamic altogether. “The group shows are about looking into what’s happening in the culture – much like The Black Vanguard – and then seeing that maybe artists are not seeing that themselves or knowing of each other. Very few photographers knew each other before working on The Black Vanguard, right? It’s about that idea and how it can manifest, contradict or consolidate itself through the presentation of works,” says Sargent.
Looking ahead, Sargent’s practice serves as a reminder that the shift we’re witnessing in today’s art world, towards platforming a broader human experience, must go beyond a vital cultural moment. “What I want to see is more folks taking risks to push the practice and the ideals. I think we’ve fallen beneath the dignity of the ideas that we’ve prescribed to ourselves in Western society, and I would like to live up to those ideals a bit more, no matter what the political cost is. I think that’s the moment we find ourselves in,” he reflects.
“I think it’s been very easy to say that you believe in personal expression and freedom without having to do very much for it,” Sargent adds. “I think we’re at a moment where folks are going to have to do something for the things they say they believe in. That is what I would like to see.”
With no time for filler material, Sargent is committed to encouraging artists to make and exhibit the work that truly motivates and moves them. Leading with a steadfast artist-led focus and sharp critical lens, his curatorial practice serves as an essential conduit for a deeper understanding of the world around us.