On View: Ohio Now: State of Nature
moCa Cleveland | January 30 – May 31, 2026
Following its critically acclaimed run at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) in Cincinnati, the landmark exhibition Ohio Now: State of Nature arrives at moCa Cleveland. This ongoing exhibition series, a premier collaboration between the CAC and moCa, connects the most vital contemporary voices working across the state today.
As a featured artist in this institutional survey, Charmaine Spencer presents two significant works that explore the urgency of environmental justice: Arms and the landmark installation Amendment. Originally commissioned for the 2018 CAN Triennial, Amendment is featured here in a renewed context—addressing toxic, post-industrial spaces through sculptural, nutrient-rich "guerrilla sculpture gardening."
Spencer’s work joins a curated selection of Ohio-based artists whose practices investigate humanity’s relationship with the environment. By participating in this high-level dialogue between Ohio's two leading contemporary museums, Spencer continues her inquiry into how we nourish both the soil and social equality.
Amendment, 2018
12 ft. x 22 ft. x 9 ft.
Materials: Driftwood, clay, soil, jute
Air, 2024
9 x 8 x 3 ft.
Commissioned by the Art Institute of Chicago
Permanent Collection of the DuSable Black History Museum
Materials: Shredded personal archive (thesis, artist statements, poetry, musical scores, and letters to the ancestors), African lost-wax filigree brass trade beads, vintage African lost-wax brass bell beads, brass wire, faux leather cord, and gold paper.
The Art Institute of Chicago
Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica
Commissioned for this landmark exhibition, Charmaine Spencer presents a major, large-scale sculptural installation that anchors its gallery space. Project a Black Planet is the first exhibition of its kind expressly devoted to modern and contemporary cultural activity through a pan-Africanist lens, exploring the political and cultural solidarity of African and African diasporic peoples worldwide.
As one of the core commissions for this ambitious project, Spencer’s work explores the intersection of materials and identity on a global stage. Following its debut at the Art Institute of Chicago, this international exhibition is currently traveling to world-class institutions, with Spencer’s work featured at:
Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA): Currently on view through April 2026
The Barbican Centre, London: Late 2026
KANAL-Centre Pompidou, Brussels: 2027
Upon the conclusion of this global tour, the commissioned work will return to Chicago to join the permanent collection of the DuSable Black History Museum, ensuring its legacy as a permanent part of this historic cultural survey.