12/08/2026
We are so thrilled to announce representation of Atlanta-based artist Antonio Darden ANTONIO DARDEN
b. Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 1983
Lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia
“In 1978, Antonio Darden’s West Indian mother entered the United States by way of New York. She relinquished her Caribbean/East Indian heritage and adopted a pseudonym. Darden’s mother met his African-American father at a funeral, fell in love, and relocated to North Carolina. His mother adopted a drawl, learned to cook Soul Food, and in 1990 persuaded her family to relocate farther south. Eventually, the family settled in Atlanta. Spawn is a socially aware interdisciplinary artist raised on a concoction of Sloppy Joe and Memphis rap.”
Darden’s art spans disciplines and ideologies, heavily influenced by pop culture, varying political realities, and the Black American humorist tradition. His sculptural, video, and performance works are inflected with satire and sincerity, often brought together in sharp, absurdist experiential installations.
Darden earned his BFA in Sculpture from Georgia State University and his MFA in Sculpture from the Milton Avery School of Graduate Studies at Bard College. His work has been exhibited in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Mexico.
This year he has been nominated for the United States Artists Fellowship (2027), received the Joseph Hartog Fund for Independent Study Grant from Bard College (2026), and was named Artist Nominator for Ruth Arts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2026).
His work is currently on view in ‘Fade’ at the Studio Museum in Harlem (1 May – 6 September 2026), the sixth edition of the “F” shows, a series of group exhibitions that began in 2001 with Freestyle, a landmark in defining contemporary Black art. The show was reviewed by Holland Cotter for the The New York Times and in the Financial Times by Ariella Budick. You an also read Andrew Russeth’s glowing Artnet review of our solo presentation at Independent 2026.
“Angel Hator,” 2023
Video, LED TV, lighting
dimensions variable
‘Friday Night Lights,” 2024
Plywood, plexiglass, metal screen, digital archive print
65 x 23 x 16 in
“Untitled (Reclining Figure),” 2025 Studio Museum in Harlem
“Untitled (No Lon