21c Museum Acquires work by Shikeith

Shikeith's work "The Beauty of Recovering What Has Been Lost" (2024) has been acquired by the 21c Museum in Louisville, KY. 

 

The title of this sculpture, "The Beauty of Recovering What Has Been Lost," originated while Shikeith was studying at the Yale School of Art, during a time marked by personal challenges. Initially, it titled a 2017 photograph depicting a Black man holding a blown glass sculpture of the artist's head, filled with water. The title reappeared in a 2020 site-specific installation at the Mattress Factory, combining blown glass and sound to explore a collective reckoning with psychic wounds. Now, it lives as a bronze sculpture, continuing Shikeith’s exploration of identity, memory, and reclamation.

 

In this bronze form, the figure cradles a blue head in its arms, contrasting sharply with the dark bronze of the body. This head is not just an object but a potent symbol of the mind, spirit, or a part of the self that has been lost or disconnected. It represents a fragment of identity reclaimed through healing and introspection. The figure's downward gaze and solemn expression convey an intimate internal process. Holding the head close to the chest suggests both an acknowledgment of past pain and a celebration of recovery. The cradling gesture signifies protection, reverence, and a profound connection between what was lost and what has now been found.