The work in the world

Wanita Dixon's sculpture and painting practice has been exhibited across the United States and internationally since 1998. This is the record.

1998 — presentChicago, IL

current exhibitions

Threshold: New Welded Steel WorksSolo
Chicago Cultural Center
A new body of large-scale welded steel sculpture exploring the architecture of passage — doorways, thresholds, and the spaces between. Seven works, each over six feet, installed across two galleries.
Chicago, IL
March 14 – August 30, 2026Open
Material Witness: Contemporary African American SculptureGroup
DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
A survey of contemporary African American sculptors working in metal, ceramic, and found material. Dixon's contribution: three works from the Inheritance series.
Chicago, IL
January 20 – September 14, 2026Open

Resilience: Works on Paper and SteelSolo
Kavi Gupta Gallery
A paired exhibition of new mixed-media works on paper alongside three steel sculptures. The works share a vocabulary of mark, weight, and accumulation.
Chicago, IL
October 4 – November 22, 2026Upcoming
New Acquisitions: American Sculpture 2026Group
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Dixon's Inheritance No. 4 enters the permanent collection and will be featured in this acquisitions exhibition.
Washington, D.C.
December 2026 – March 2027Upcoming

2026Chicago Cultural Center

2025Kavi Gupta Gallery

2024DuSable Museum

Inheritance: Steel and MemorySoloMuseum of Contemporary Art Chicago — Chicago, IL
EX–00262025
Black Futures: New American SculptureGroupBrooklyn Museum — New York, NY
EX–00252024
Forged: Women in MetalGroupCranbrook Art Museum — Bloomfield Hills, MI
EX–00242024
Weight and MemorySoloKavi Gupta Gallery — Chicago, IL
EX–00232023
Structures of FeelingGroupHyde Park Art Center — Chicago, IL
EX–00222023
The Body Electric: Contemporary SculptureGroupNasher Sculpture Center — Dallas, TX
EX–00212022
Bone and SteelSoloThreewalls — Chicago, IL
EX–00202021
Material Culture: African American Art NowGroupStudio Museum in Harlem — New York, NY
EX–00192020
ReclamationSoloKavi Gupta Gallery — Chicago, IL
EX–00182019
New Acquisitions: American SculptureGroupArt Institute of Chicago — Chicago, IL
EX–00172018

Illinois Arts Council Artist FellowshipIllinois Arts Council Agency
AW–0092025
Joan Mitchell Foundation GrantJoan Mitchell Foundation
AW–0082024
3Arts Award in Visual Art3Arts Chicago
AW–0072023
National Endowment for the Arts FellowshipNational Endowment for the Arts
AW–0062021
Artadia Chicago AwardArtadia
AW–0052019
Pollock-Krasner Foundation GrantPollock-Krasner Foundation
AW–0042017

Wanita Dixon's steel sculptures hold the weight of historyChicago Tribune
PR–018April 2026
The architecture of grief and resilienceArt in America
PR–017February 2026
Material witness: Dixon's new work at the MCAArtforum
PR–016November 2025
Forged in fire: the sculpture of Wanita DixonThe New York Times
PR–015September 2024
Steel, memory, and the body: a conversation with Wanita DixonHyperallergic
PR–014March 2023
Chicago's most important sculptor you don't know yetChicago Magazine
PR–013October 2021