Alfonso Ossorio: Line and Lineage

Through a focused selection of works and archival materials, Alfonso Ossorio: Line and Lineage explores the recurrent subjects, material experimentation, and development of line in prints, drawings, and wax-resist paintings by Alfonso Ossorio (1916–1990). Born in the Philippines, Ossorio studied art history at Harvard and shortly after moved to New York City, becoming an influential figure in the post–World War II American avant-garde. Showcasing works that chart both continuities and innovations across his six-decade practice, the exhibition positions Ossorio in dialogue with the artists he influenced, learned from, and inspired.

The exhibition is organized in conjunction with Knowledge Is Myth: Chimeric Continuities (October 1–December 13, 2026) at the neighboring Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. Works by Ossorio as well as by Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien, a contemporary artist duo who engage with the continuing influence of a larger-than-life church mural that Ossorio completed in the Philippines, appear in both exhibitions.

Programming, including talks led by exhibition curators, will be hosted by both the Harvard Art Museums and the Carpenter Center throughout the run of the exhibitions.

Alfonso Ossorio: Line and Lineage is accompanied by a publication featuring two essays with new scholarship on Ossorio’s works on paper and a conversation with contemporary artists Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien.

Organized by Mitra Abbaspour, Houghton Curator and Head of the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Ally Cirelli, Cunningham Senior Curatorial Assistant for the Collection, Harvard Art Museums.