Solo show
Upcoming
Mondrian Boogie Woogie
21 Mar 2027 — 31 Jul 2027 at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
· New York
Exhibition. Mar 21–Jul 31, 2027.
On October 3, 1940, the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian sailed into New York Harbor aboard the RMS Samaria. It had been a harrowing passage across the Atlantic as the 66-year-old painter escaped the chaos of World War II. That same night, Mondrian's friend, the artist Harry Holtzman, played him several boogie woogie records — a percussive strain of blues piano that had recently taken New York by storm.
First played by Black musicians in the American South in the 1800s, boogie woogie traveled with the Great Migration as millions of African Americans fled racial violence for opportunities in the northern cities. Mondrian soon encountered this music performed live at Cafe Society, New York's first integrated nightclub, where Albert Ammons, Meade "Lux" Lewis, and Pete Johnson — three of the genre's leading pianists — were in residence.
For Mondrian, the improvisational dynamism of this music unleashed a period of extraordinary exploration. It prompted him to revise works he had completed in Europe, to experiment with colored tape, and to liberate his compositions from the stability of the grid, giving them a new syncopated structure that made them, in the artist's words, "more boogie woogie."
This body of work culminated in his final two paintings, which have become beloved icons: Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942–43) and Victory Boogie Woogie (1942–44), reunited for this exhibition after 30 years.
Mondrian Boogie Woogie is the first major survey of the artist's work from his final years in New York City (1940–44). It explores two intersecting stories: Mondrian's journey to Manhattan as a European refugee and boogie woogie's northward migration. Featuring 30 artworks, an array of archival materials, and immersive audio experiences in the galleries, the exhibition is accompanied by a program of live musical performances.
On October 3, 1940, the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian sailed into New York Harbor aboard the RMS Samaria. It had been a harrowing passage across the Atlantic as the 66-year-old painter escaped the chaos of World War II. That same night, Mondrian's friend, the artist Harry Holtzman, played him several boogie woogie records — a percussive strain of blues piano that had recently taken New York by storm.
First played by Black musicians in the American South in the 1800s, boogie woogie traveled with the Great Migration as millions of African Americans fled racial violence for opportunities in the northern cities. Mondrian soon encountered this music performed live at Cafe Society, New York's first integrated nightclub, where Albert Ammons, Meade "Lux" Lewis, and Pete Johnson — three of the genre's leading pianists — were in residence.
For Mondrian, the improvisational dynamism of this music unleashed a period of extraordinary exploration. It prompted him to revise works he had completed in Europe, to experiment with colored tape, and to liberate his compositions from the stability of the grid, giving them a new syncopated structure that made them, in the artist's words, "more boogie woogie."
This body of work culminated in his final two paintings, which have become beloved icons: Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942–43) and Victory Boogie Woogie (1942–44), reunited for this exhibition after 30 years.
Mondrian Boogie Woogie is the first major survey of the artist's work from his final years in New York City (1940–44). It explores two intersecting stories: Mondrian's journey to Manhattan as a European refugee and boogie woogie's northward migration. Featuring 30 artworks, an array of archival materials, and immersive audio experiences in the galleries, the exhibition is accompanied by a program of live musical performances.
About the artist
Piet Mondrian
1872–1944 · Post-impressionism
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan, known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian, was a Dutch painter and art theoretician, who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He was one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an…
About the artist →About the venue
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
· New York
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, and includes over 200,000 works of architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture…
