Now on view, a solo exhibition featuring artist Sanford Biggers who was commissioned for the large-scale suspended sculptures titled Odyssey hanging in the North and South ends of the TCORE Concourse Connector. This exhibition highlights Sanford’s multi-media artistic practice and gives an in-depth view into the materials, inspiration points, and work that went into creating Odyssey. This exhibition will be on view through March 2026 in the mezzanine Art Gallery, open Monday-Sunday between 9am-10pm (this is a pre-security area so you do not need a ticket to visit).
The themes and overall design of Odyssey are inspired by Biggers’ on-going series Codex which features mixed-media paintings and sculptures made from antique quilts, which reflect the original creators’ intentions while acquiring new meanings through Biggers’ artistic interventions. Biggers’ exploration of quilts began in 2009 when he was commissioned by Hidden City Philadelphia to create artwork for the Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a stop on the Underground Railroad. Captivated by the long-debated theory that quilts served as signposts along escape routes, he launched into his first quilt-based artworks in the Codex series.
Biggers transforms the quilts through various artistic interventions. They are hung, stretched over custom-built frames, or sometimes sewn onto sculptural armatures, transcending their original function. The artist applies paint, collaged elements, and layers various materials on the the quilts, creating entirely new works of art. This process speaks to themes of transformation, resurrection, and the ongoing dialogue between the past and present.
Odyssey features references to several antique quilts sourced from the Oregon Historical Society, including quilts brought along the Oregon Trail by new immigrants to the region. By engaging with these historic local elements, Biggers helps viewers establish a sense of place in a transient environment, as well as inviting new interpretations of the past. The Oregon Historical Society graciously lent one of these quilts to be displayed in the gallery.
Sanford Biggers (b. 1970, Los Angeles, CA) is an American interdisciplinary artist who works in film and video, installation, sculpture, music, and performance. Biggers received a BA from Morehouse College, Atlanta, and an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he sits on the Board of Governors. He was a former Associate Professor at Columbia University’s Visual Arts program and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1998). A Los Angeles native, Biggers has lived and worked in New York City since 1999.
Biggers’ work has been exhibited internationally and nationally in prestigious institutions, including Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Centre of Pompidou Metz, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Studio Museum in Harlem, Whitney Museum of American Art, Hammer Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California African American Museum, Orange County Museum of Art, and Bronx Museum of Art. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Studio Museum in Harlem, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.
For more information on this exhibition or artwork inquiries please contact hello@sanfordbiggers.com or visit sanfordbiggers.com
