© Kara Walker, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers (Photo: Fredrik Nilsen Studio)
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When renowned artist Kara Walker‘s latest exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opened, The New York Times called it “riveting.” Filled with fascinating kinetic sculptures or “automations,” Fortuna, or the Immortality Garden (Machine) deftly blends modern technology with the artist's own vulnerability. Conceived during the pandemic and incorporating AI, the work is a commentary on old and new.
The installation remains on display at SFMOMA until spring 2026. Featuring automations trapped in a never-ending cycle of rituals, such as baptism and a little girl using a doll to self-soothe, it's an interactive display that asks us to ponder “the memorialization of trauma, the objectives of technology, and the possibilities of transforming the negative energies that plague contemporary society.” At the head of the installation is a fortune-teller who looms large and waves her finger at visitors before ominous premonitions spill from her mouth on a slip of paper.
Now, thanks to a forthcoming exhibition catalog published by SFMOMA and Princeton University Press, the renowned artist is revealing the creative process of Fortuna. The pages are filled with Walker's drawings and paintings, as well as images of the creative process. And, in a fascinating interview with SFMOMA’s curator and head of contemporary art Eungie Joo, she reveals the thought process surrounding Fortuna.
In her own words, we learn how her health, and that of her loved ones, during the pandemic influenced her creative choices. This particularly comes into play with technology and our heavy reliance on tech to reach out during COVID-19. With an essay by product designer David A. M. Goldberg, a selection of fashion designer Gary Graham’s notebook pages, an excerpt from Donna Haraway’s influential essay “A Cyborg Manifesto,” and experimental short fiction by writer Damani McNeil, Fortuna, or the Immortality Garden (Machine) is a beautiful complement to the exhibition.
The catalog, set for publication on January 14, 2025, is now available for pre-sale.
Fortuna, or the Immortality Garden (Machine) is a riveting Kara Walker installation at SFMOMA.
© Kara Walker, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers (Photo: Fredrik Nilsen Studio)
Filled with fascinating kinetic sculptures or “automations,” it deftly blends modern technology with the artist's own vulnerability.
© Kara Walker, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers (Photo: Fredrik Nilsen Studio)
A forthcoming catalog takes us on Walker's creative journey through drawings, paintings, and behind-the-scenes photographs.
Kara Walker, study for Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine), 2023-2024; © Kara Walker, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
Kara Walker, Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine), work in progress, 2023-2024; © Kara Walker; photo: Ari Marcopoulos, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
Kara Walker, study for Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine), 2023-2024; © Kara Walker, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
Kara Walker, Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine), work in progress, 2023-2024; © Kara Walker; photo: Ari Marcopoulos, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers
See more about how Walker conceived the exhibition and pre-order the catalog now.
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Princeton University Press.
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