Titus Kaphar

Ascension VI

Titus Kaphar is known for reimagining history from Black perspectives in his exploration of race and social issues. In Ascension VI, he used brass nails to overlay an image of an airborne Zion Williamson performing his signature “windmill” slam dunk on a mid-17th-century painting by Flemish artist Erasmus Quellinus II that depicts a popular story from Greek mythology. While the centerpiece of Quellinus’s work is Odysseus’s discovery of Achilles disguised as a woman among the daughters of Lycomedes, Kaphar forces the viewer to focus on the figure of a Black courtesan whose position in the original painting is marginal. Through this layering and reframing, the work conflates two iconic images into a single gesture, brimming with historical references, optimism, and admiration.