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Creative Minds

Creative Mind: Titus Kaphar

The celebrated artist, who won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2018, has garnered international acclaim for his radical revisions of art history

By Lucy Rees
Artist in a green shirt poses in front of a vibrant, colorful mural depicting a woman and suburban scene.
Titus Kaphar in front of his painting Intravenous (2020). Photo: MARIO SORRENTI, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND GAGOSIAN

Titus Kaphar’s creative practice extends far beyond the edges of a traditional canvas. The celebrated artist, who won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2018, has garnered international acclaim for his radical revisions of art history, as he physically cuts, tears, and reconfigures Western paintings to spotlight Black and Brown subjects. “I’m fascinated by how the stories we tell about the past, whether true or false, animate our concept of who we are,” says the artist, whose current Gagosian Paris show features a series of new paintings and hand-carved wood sculptures. “We live in an age where images are disposable; we are rarely encouraged to devote time to truly looking,” he says of the inspiration behind his new body of work.

Wooden sculpture of a bearded man with a red cap and golden halo on a cylindrical wooden pedestal in a gallery setting.
Titus Kaphar, While You Wake . . . (Sentinel 3) (2025). Photo: CHRIS GARDNER, © TITUS KAPHAR, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND GAGOSIAN
Painting of a person in historical attire with a textured black face, sitting against a sunset backdrop.
Titus Kaphar, Kinfolk, Breath is my Precious Inheritance (Harry Washington) (2025). Photo: Owen Conway, © TITUS KAPHAR, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND GAGOSIAN

Outside the studio: Kaphar is the cofounder and president of NXTHVN, a groundbreaking arts incubator and residency program in New Haven, Connecticut. “The mission of NXTHVN has always been to advance artists’ careers through access and education,” says Kaphar, who also created a partnership with medical providers and mental health professionals during the pandemic to further serve the community. “This holistic approach is now fundamental to who we are.”

Surreal painting of a faceless figure with a textured, dark surface, wearing a hat and historical clothing, seated at a table.
Titus Kaphar, Kinfolk, Breath Is My Precious Inheritance (Sarah Johnson), (2025). Photo: OWEN CONWAY, © TITUS KAPHAR, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND GAGOSIAN
Wooden sculpture of a seated figure with a textured surface, blending dark and light wood tones, displayed in a gallery setting.
Titus Kaphar, Angel for Altadena, (2025). Photo: CHRIS GARDNER, © TITUS KAPHAR, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND GAGOSIAN

Passion for process: “One of my mentors once said that if you
fall in love with the process, the ‘product’ will take care of itself. I still love the process of making art more than anything else. I’d be satisfied to be a studio hermit.”

On view: Kaphar is one of two artists in the exhibition “Pictures
More Famous Than the Truth” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
through July.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Spring Issue in the section “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.