Curated by Sylvie Patry

In 2014, the Algerian-born, Paris-based artist Mohamed Bourouissa began a long-term project about black cowboys in northern Philadelphia, producing a slew of videos, photographs, drawings, and sculptures. He spent the better part of a year with the young men of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, not only capturing a world that belies the mythology of the white western cowboy but also earning the trust of the riders—to the extent that he and they were able to create new works together, such as ritualized costume competitions and “horse-tuning” events, which borrow from the style and attitude of showing off tricked-out cars. Bourouissa’s first major solo show in the US promises to be both concise and expansive, focusing solely on the Fletcher Street project, displayed in its entirety—comprising more than fifty works, including new ones—for the first time in the city where it was made. The accompanying catalogue, which sets “Urban Riders” in the wider context of Bourouissa’s practice, is the first publication on the artist’s work in English.

— Kaelen Wilson-Goldie