This publication accompanies the exhibition Encounters and Collisions, at Tate Liverpool in partnership with Nottingham Contemporary, 30 June – 18 October 20.
The exhibition, curated by Glenn, brought together artworks and other materials he references regularly in his own work and writings. As his practice, especially his painting, is deeply involved in the legacy of Post-War American art, which he enriches through references to American history, especially African-American experience. This exhibition features many major figures such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Jasper Johns alongside Ligon's near contemporaries including Chris Ofili, Lorna Simpson and Felix Gonzales-Torres. Wider cultural phenomena such as the photojournalism of the Civil Rights struggle and Sun Ra's seminal film Space is the Place also feature alongside the works by the artist.