The Museum of Modern Art

How did Jack Whitten paint with light? Artist Julie Mehretu reflects on Whitten’s commitment to his craft, and to abstract painting as a way of creating light, in an excerpt from “Jack Whitten: The Messenger,” the book for MoMA’s major retrospective. “Whitten had an obsession with light, reflecting light, capturing light ... Across his paintings, we’re suspended in this light, which frames us in a larger picture of time," Mehretu writes. "His painting makes a physical, almost archaeological, experience—a vibration—and you can look at it forever.” Growing up in the segregated South, Whitten turned to abstract art not only as a form of creative expression but as a path to freedom. Through his obsession with light and materials, his large-scale paintings invite us into a luminous space where experience and feeling take precedence over symbols and language. His approach to abstraction offered a way of navigating the complexities of identity, history, and political struggle, creating a space for personal liberation. 📖 Read more in “Jack Whitten: The Messenger.” Pick up your copy from MoMA Design Store today → mo.ma/4kEZNQx 🖼️ Now open! See the first full retrospective of Whitten’s dazzling work → mo.ma/whitten — Jack Whitten. “Light Sheet I” (details). 1969. Jack Whitten Estate. Courtesy the Estate and Hauser & Wirth.Photograph by Christopher Stach.

“Making art, making something positive out of a loss, is so important.”—Betye Saar After evacuating her home and studio in January due to the Los Angeles fires, artist Betye Saar was reminded of how an earlier fire in the area influenced her art. In 1962, Saar moved to Laurel Canyon, a neighborhood affected by a devastating fire, and the sight of the burned landscape inspired her to create etchings like “The Wounded Wilderness,” using charred remains of nature and structures as symbols of resilience and healing. Read more on #MoMAMagazine → mo.ma/4ifovFn — Betye Saar. “The Wounded Wilderness.” 1962. Gift of Julie and Bennett Roberts, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles. © Betye Saar, courtesy the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles

Turn yourself into a work of art! In partnership with UNIQLO, you can wear artworks by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Liubov Popova, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp from the new Art Icons t-shirt collection from UNIQLO. Each features a reproduction of an iconic artwork from our collection, reimagined for everyday wear. 🎨 Show now → mo.ma/4iCvMPW 🎟️ Join us each week at MoMA to celebrate the art and the city we love at UNIQLO Friday Nights. All New York residents get free admission courtesy of UNIQLO, but everyone can enjoy an evening out in our galleries. 🛍️ Pick up select styles from the new collection at MoMA Design Store and UNIQLO stores during UNIQLO Friday Nights. — 🖼️ Vincent van Gogh. “The Starry Night.” Saint Rémy, June 1889. Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange) 📸 Alycia Kravitz

Time is ticking down to another 24-hour screening of “The Clock!” Join us for a movie marathon like no other! Watch every minute of Christian Marclay’s “The Clock” in a rare 24-hour screening. 🗓️ March 20 at 9 am – March 21 at 9 am 🎟️ Space is limited, and tickets will be available for purchase onsite on the day of the screening. Learn more → mo.ma/3Fpod0f This exhibition is made possible by MoMA's partner Richard Mille. — Christian Marclay. ”The Clock.” 2010. Video (black and white and color, sound). 24 hrs. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Promised gift from the Collection of Jill and Peter Kraus. © 2024 Christian Marclay. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery and White Cube. Installation view, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo by Jonathan Dorado

🏃♂️ Running the city this Sunday? Celebrate your victory and enjoy our galleries afterward! In partnership with New York Road Runners, we’re teaming up to bring NYRR Beyond the Finish Line to life with free admission and discounts at MoMA Design Store for United Airlines NYC Half Marathon participants and their supporters on March 16–20. Show your 2025 United Airlines NYC Half medal to receive free admission to MoMA and a 10%* discount at MoMA Design Stores in NYC. Retail promotion may be combined with MoMA members 10% discount, but no other offers. *Exclusions may apply. Learn more → NYRR.org/BTFL

There’s a new mural at MoMA! As the inaugural Adobe Creative Resident at The Museum of Modern Art, DonChristian Jones led a series of workshops on character study at three public high schools in New York. The students created characters, monuments, and landmarks in a parallel version of New York City, known as “Gotham.” The scene intertwines their stories and ideas, reflecting a community that cares for one another, grows together, and encourages creativity. Learn more and visit the mural today → mo.ma/41YzX2i The Adobe Foundation (Adobe) is proud to support equity, learning, and creativity at MoMA. — 📸 On White Wall

🖍️ Ever wanted to try your hand at drawing but didn’t know where to start? Now’s your chance! Join us for Drop-In Drawing, a relaxed, no-pressure session where you can sketch your way through the galleries. 🎟️ Happening every week during UNIQLO Friday Nights where MoMA is open late and admission is free for all New York State residents! 🎨 Facilitated by MoMA staff and guest artists with no experience needed ✍️ We provide the materials, you bring the creativity Learn more → mo.ma/41qhslW — 📸 Alycia Kravitz

How does the sense of hearing spark the imagination, and what role does it play in art? Artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller create installations, objects, and interactive works focused on sound, like the moving 2001 piece "The Forty Part Motet (A reworking of “Spem in Alium,” by Thomas Tallis 1556).” When Cardiff first heard Thomas Tallis's 16th-century choral work "Spem in Alium," she wanted to capture each voice from this complex piece. Using forty speakers, each playing a single vocal line, allows viewers to experience the music up close and personally, to focus on one singer or to follow the whole composition. In this episode of our Art and the Senses series, the artists and MoMA Media Conservator Peter Oleksik share how two decades of installing the piece in different settings uncovered surprising emotional depth and new discoveries about how sound interacts with space. Watch the full episode → mo.ma/3XfQ60E

In 2005, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude unveiled “The Gates,” a 23-mile, public art installation that spanned Central Park. For its 20th anniversary, The Gates is back in AR on the Bloomberg Connects app. Explore now → https://lnkd.in/e9kMk3Ab

Happy Valentine's Day from MoMA 💌 Love and art have a lot in common. Both take time and commitment—even sacrifice—and both make our lives a whole lot richer. So it’s no surprise that artists keep returning to love in its many forms, using their work to express romance, process a breakup, capture moments of passion...or even just celebrate the L word itself. Discover art-inspired stories that reflect the tenderness, intensity, and beauty of love—because like great art, it stays with us forever → mo.ma/3QiNonm — [1] Robert Frank. “Paris.” 1950. Gift of the artist. © 2025 The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation [2] Kerry James Marshall. “Study for Vignette.” 2004. The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection Gift. © 2025 Kerry James Marshall [3] Unidentified photographer. Untitled. c. 1900. Gift of Peter J. Cohen [4] Robert Indiana. “LOVE.” 1967. Riva Castleman Fund © 2025 Morgan Art Foundation Ltd. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York