ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2025

“It is unusual for a work of this complexity to be shown within the core section of a fair. Our collaboration with Stephen Friedman Gallery gives the Library collections the space and visibility they deserve. It’s a project that demands care and collective stewardship. When galleries work together, we create conditions for significant artworks to be viewed and understood in ways that might not otherwise be possible.”

– Liza Essers

Stephen Friedman shares: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Goodman Gallery to bring this important work to Miami for the first time. Shonibare’s practice embodies community, ritual, and learning – values that resonate deeply with both of our galleries. Presenting a work of this scale and ambition is only possible through genuine collaboration, and we are proud to create the conditions for it to be experienced in a context that invites dialogue and understanding.”

Presented jointly by both galleries for the first time, this iteration of the Library collections echoes the global scope of Shonibare’s project and underscores the importance of cross-institutional partnerships in expanding access to complex installations. In 2026, Shonibare will have several to-be-announced museum exhibitions across the globe, including a major commission debuting at JFK Airport in New York in 2026. Alongside the installation, each gallery will showcase work from their respective programmes.

In addition to Shonibare, Goodman Gallery’s presentation brings together leading artists practicing across diverse geographies and approaches, including Ghada Amer, El Anatsui, Winston Branch, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Leonardo Drew, Jared Ginsburg, David Goldblatt, Dor Guez, William Kentridge, Kapwani Kiwanga, Atta Kwami, Misheck Masamvu, Cassi Namoda, Shirin Neshat, Hank Willis Thomas, Clive van den Berg and Carrie Mae Weems.

Several artworks not yet seen in the US will feature on the booth. Highlights include major bronzes and works on paper by Kentridge, as well as recently created wooden works by Anatsui – who is currently featured in Nigerian Modernism at the Tate Modern. Kiwanga presents a recent sensorial work composed of mahogany, glass beads and metal, ahead of her major site-specific commission for the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building. Namoda debuts a powerful new painting in advance of her first US museum solo exhibition at ICA Virginia in 2026.

The booth also introduces the work of Branch, a British artist from Saint Lucia, who makes his Goodman Gallery debut in London this month with large-scale abstract paintings. His transatlantic career as both artist and educator – with teaching commitments at various institutions in London, as well as in California, Tennessee and Kansas – resonates with that of Kwami, the late academic, artist and founder of the SaNsA International Artists Workshop in Kumasi, Ghana, an important node within the International Triangle Artists Workshop network which is nominated this year at the Art Basel Awards in Miami.