In a year already marked by significant milestones, artist Awol Erizku is celebrating not one—but two—major solo exhibitions in his city. On March 26, the California African American Museum unveiled X, Erizku’s first museum solo show, a homecoming of sorts following its debut at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah. Less than two months later, on May 16, Erizku’s first solo exhibition with Sean Kelly Gallery, Moon, Turn the Flames…Gently Gently Away, opened to eager crowds in Los Angeles.
For Erizku, these concurrent exhibitions mark a critical evolution in his artistic journey, one that fuses his conceptual rigor with a powerful exploration of identity and legacy. “The show at CAAM is my inaugural solo institutional debut, which went to SCAD in Savannah first, and now it’s traveled to LA for its second iteration,” Erizku explained. “It still feels very new. Yes, some of the core works in the show are pretty much the same, but then there’s other significant changes that have been done by way of installation, and even inclusion of certain other Easter eggs as well that I’m very excited about.”
The artist’s practice has long engaged with cultural signifiers, drawing from African American history, contemporary culture, and his own Ethiopian heritage. Though widely recognized for his iconic 2017 photograph of a pregnant Beyoncé—one of the most-liked posts in Instagram history—Erizku resists being confined to photography alone. “I always see myself as a conceptual artist,” he emphasized. “It’s the ideas that dictate the medium and the final format.”
Awol’s approach is especially evident in X, where he explores the multifaceted legacy of Malcolm X, or el Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, whose name resonates throughout the exhibition. “The body of the work or the subject of my exhibition is Malcolm X, and sort of exploring the dimensions of who he was as a man, as a father, as a thinker, philosopher, civil rights activist, you name it,” Erizku said. “For me, it was important to open up that conversation, and at the very least, direct people to the source. I’m just a vessel. I’m really not doing too much.”
Erizku’s deep engagement with Malcolm X coincided with the timing of his Sean Kelly show. This intentionality underscores the artist’s ability to weave history and contemporary culture into his practice, bridging time and space through layered visual narratives. “As a museum rooted in the legacies of Blackness, it was important to bring Awol Erizku’s first solo museum exhibition to CAAM and his home in Los Angeles,” said Cameron Shaw, Executive Director at California African American Museum.
“X—inspired by Malcolm X—speaks directly to LA’s diasporic communities and is especially resonant now as we approach what would have been Malcolm X’s 100th birthday,” Shaw continued. “With works like his epic Nefertiti disco ball, Awol invites us to think about beauty, resistance, spiritual transformation, and who gets to shape history. His art connects the past and the present in a way that feels both deeply personal and politically urgent.”
Beyond the gallery walls, Erizku’s creativity extends into writing, a passion he channels into the forthcoming catalog for X. “It’s going to have the letter, handwritten letter from Malcolm X, during his time at hajj, which to me is seminal, not just to the exhibition over at CAAM, but also just to, I think, who he was as a man towards the end of his life too,” he said. The catalog will also feature installation images and other surprises, offering a deeper dive into Erizku’s artistic universe.
As a young African American artist navigating both the creative and business sides of the art world, Erizku remains clear-eyed and grounded. “Awol’s work speaks directly to the cultural and social issues being addressed now in Los Angeles and throughout the U.S.,” said Thomas Kelly, Director, Sean Kelly, Los Angeles. “At a time when questions of identity, justice, and representation are more urgent than ever, his visual language offers a powerful space for reflection, resistance, and possibility.”
While his exhibitions reflect the culmination of years of dedication, Erizku’s perspective on the art world is refreshingly measured. His journey of personal growth and professional advancement shapes his understanding of what it means to be an artist today. His career is a continuous process, one where perseverance and adaptability are key.
“No position comes without its difficulties or set of challenges,” Awol acknowledged. “But I’m grateful for the good and the positive moments that I’ve had that have also propelled me to this point—so I take the good with the bad. But I’m still going through it. I look at Kerry James Marshall, I look at Carrie Mae Weems, I look at Rashid Johnson—those are giants. I know for sure they had it worse than I did, and they never complained. So, I’m not going to complain about anything right now. I’m just earning my stripes.”