In Profile brings together modern and contemporary works from the Studio Museum’s permanent collection that exemplify certain approaches to portraiture, with a specific focus on works that embody the concept of self-fashioning. “Self-fashioning” refers to a sixteenth-century trend in which European noblemen commissioned portraits to promote their position and status. Here self-fashioning serves to highlight instances of Black individuals creating their own images in art. The portraits on view, including paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs, were each created specifically to record and assert a sitter’s very presence.

The Studio Museum’s permanent collection traces the evolution of the Museum from its inception through the growth of the collection, as well as the expansion of the exhibition and Artist-in-Residence programs. The collection contains more than 2,000 works of art, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, video and mixed-media installations. In Profile, along with the Museum’s other collection exhibitions, provides an opportunity to reflect on the great treasures in the Museum’s care and prompts discussions about art created in the current moment and the past.