The Fire This Time: Titus Kaphar’s Exhibition Unveils Society’s Forgotten Figures at Gagosian

Titus Kaphar debuts his first solo exhibition in Paris at the Gagosian Gallery with The Fire This Time, running from January 29 to March 7, 2026. Through a striking mix of paintings and wooden sculptures, the American artist explores forgotten shadows of history, bringing to light memories that have long been sidelined or overlooked.

From January 29 to March 7, 2026, Titus Kaphar is taking over Paris with an impressive showcase at the Gagosian Gallery in the 8th arrondissement. The exhibition, titled The Fire This Time, marks the artist’s first free show in Paris. A fiery introduction, designed as a confrontation with history, its silences… and its charred remnants.

The title sets the tone. The Fire This Time directly echoes James Baldwin’s fiery essay, The Fire Next Time (1963), a powerful literary call to action against American racial politics. Baldwin, exiled in Paris to escape what he called the “American madness,” joined a constellation of expatriate artists—Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Richard Wright. Over fifty years later, Jesmyn Ward rekindled that same spark with her eponymous anthology. Meanwhile, Kaphar turns this flame into raw painterly force.

The Fire This Time : l’exposition de Titus Kaphar qui révèle les oubliés de l’histoire à Gagosian — Titus Kaphar / Owen Conway Courtesy Gagosian

The exhibition showcases a new collection of paintings and wooden sculptures, all driven by a common obsession — how history is told, and more importantly, what it chooses to keep silent. As the United States approaches its 250th Independence Day and the "No Kings" protests shake the nation, the artist questions the American presidency and the narratives it has long obscured.

Kaphar reimagines the formats of his signature series Tar and Whitewash by shedding light on those often sidelined: figures who surrounded the early presidents, including slaves from George Washington's inner circle— domestic workers, Revolutionary War fighters, and women who remained in bondage long after his death.

With the Drawer (2025–) works, hidden panels gradually reveal themselves to viewers, unveiling the story of Celia: Embers, Bone, and Ash (2025), charting a journey from domination to emancipation. In a resonant echo, a series of charred wooden sculptures—her “Saints,” friends, and family members—invoke Byzantine and Renaissance iconography, sealed by fire.

At Titus Kaphar's studio, embers run deep with political fire. In Paris, that spark is just waiting to ignite.