Beverly Buchanan at the Raw Edge of Art
Instead of leaving the South behind, the polymath artist carried it into her writings, zines, paintings, and “shack sculptures” that echo the architecture of her childhood.
Beverly Buchanan was mentored by Norman Lewis and Romare Bearden, a contemporary of Ana Mendieta and Eva Hesse, and most recently featured in the 61st Venice Biennale in Koyo Kouoh’s In Minor Keys. Yet, the late artist and her oeuvre have long been understudied and underexplored.
With contributors ranging from friends, dealers, historians, curators, and contemporaries, Beverly Buchanan: Ruination and Regeneration (2026) seeks to amend this oversight. Above all, it is a testament to the North Carolina-born artist’s complexity, intellect, and sensitivity across sculpture, photography, land art, and video work. It’s also a reminder that the combined effects of racism and anti-Blackness, misogyny, and regional bias on an artist’s legacy must be counteracted, as modeled by the 18 contributors' voices in this book.
Edited by Aurélie Bernard Wortsman, the monograph begins with an introduction by Andrew Edlin, longtime dealer and supporter of the artist’s work. The essays, interviews, poems (including one by Alice Walker), and images within span Buchanan’s role in Abstract Expressionism and Post-minimalism; her activity in Atlanta, Macon, and Athens, Georgia; and her eventual departure to Michigan. An extensive selection of works is included: early paintings, zines, sketches, architectural and floral works on paper, environmental installations, and sculptures.
