Saya Woolfalk: The Empathic Universe

Timeless illustrations of Saya Woolfalk’s artistic innovation in Afrofuturism and world-building in contemporary art.

Saya Woolfalk: The Empathic Universe is the first full-scale monograph on this internationally renowned multidisciplinary artist. Woolfalk’s immersive installations are as visually stunning as they are intellectually engaging, winning ardent admirers worldwide. Lavishly illustrated, this volume surveys two decades of Woolfalk’s groundbreaking work including the artist’s: garment-based sculptures, installations, videos, paintings, and live performances. ＂The Empathics＂ are a fictional race of women whose story runs throughout Woolfalk’s artworks. Their name reflects the hope that future societies will develop stronger empathy for one another, and their visual culture has its own distinctive imagery, symbolism, and folklore, incorporating aspects of African, African-American, Japanese, European, and Brazilian art, craft, and storytelling.

Alexandra Schwartz is curator of modern and contemporary art, craft, and design at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. Her exhibitions and catalogs include Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art and Come as You Are: Art of the 1990s, and her books include Ed Ruscha’s Los Angeles and Modern Women: Women Artists at The Museum of Modern Art.