David-Jeremiah presents “Artist Talk"

The Exhibition Lecture Series is a dynamic new program featuring curators and artists from the Modern’s special exhibitions and permanent collection. This series provides a rare opportunity to explore the creative processes, curatorial strategies, and artistic visions that shape modern and contemporary art. The Exhibition Lecture Series is a free program open to the public.

Seating begins at 7:30 pm. Free admission tickets (limit two per person) are available at the Modern’s information desk beginning at 4 pm on the day of the lecture. A limited number of tickets (limit two per person) will be available for purchase online ($5) from 10 am until 4 pm the day before the lecture. 

As part of the Modern’s Exhibition Lecture Series, Artist David-Jeremiah presents “Artist Talk,” in conjunction with the exhibition David-Jeremiah: The Fire This Time. The artist confronts and reconfigures the conventions of the customary artist’s talk format. Rather than offering a straightforward commentary on his process or intentions, “Artist Talk” becomes a site of interrogation where themes of authorship, responsibility, and commodification are debated rather than explained.

Throughout his presentation, David-Jeremiah engages in a layered, often self-critical dialogue that questions the very authority of the artist to define their own work. He examines the tension between an artist’s original intent and the ways in which their work takes on a life of its own once it enters public space. By foregrounding this ambiguity, David-Jeremiah positions the artwork not as a passive object of explanation, but rather as an active agent, capable of asserting its own meaning, resisting categorization, and even interrogating its maker.

“Artist Talk” purposefully disrupts the traditional power dynamic in which the artist is seen as the sole voice of truth. Instead, the work itself is granted voice and presence, turning the format on its head. In doing so, David-Jeremiah critiques systems of ownership, creative labor, and cultural exploitation, raising questions about who benefits, who speaks, and who is seen.