In an unexpected corner of upper Manhattan, where the aroma of coffee mingles with the legacy of jazz, Beyond Art’s latest exhibition, “A Triptych in Jazz,” emerged as a fleeting yet profound exploration of sensory consciousness. Situated within the cultural nexus of Harlem, this thoughtfully curated experience bridged the ephemeral nature of jazz performance with the enduring presence of visual art. The exhibition concluded its run at Columbia University’s JLG Center in December as a pop-up showcase.
The exhibition’s conceptual framework, structured around the three pillars of Bossa Nova, Bebop, and Blues, created a compelling dialogue between sonic and visual vocabularies. The curatorial vision of Tingwei Lin, Daniel Zhu, and Wenjie (Demi) Zhao demonstrated an acute understanding of how different artistic languages can converge to evoke moments of transcendent understanding.
At the heart of this interdisciplinary dialogue were the works of five artists, each responding to jazz’s rhythmic and harmonic foundations through their distinct visual lexicons. Vidal Mouet’s monumental Untitled (2024) served as a visual anchor, while Timothy Bair’s intimate colored pencil compositions offered a more contemplative exploration of musical form through visual metaphor.
Sarah Huffard’s oil paintings evoked the improvisational essence of jazz, balancing structured composition with spontaneous expression. Works like “Wink” (2024) and “Luna Lunar” (2024) revealed a dynamic interplay of geometric precision and chromatic fluidity, creating visual rhythms akin to musical scores. Each brushstroke responded intuitively to the last, mirroring the evolving nature of jazz improvisation. Bale Creek Allen’s sculptural interventions — the cast bronze “Tumbleweeds” (2024) and sterling silver-plated “Tire Tread” (2024) — introduced a material dimension that spoke to the physical weight of musical memory. These works served as tactile anchors in an exhibition that otherwise grappled with the intangible qualities of sound and visual perception.
The exhibition’s spatial composition created discrete zones of contemplation, allowing audiences to navigate between visual works while experiencing live performances. This careful choreography facilitated a phenomenological encounter where traditional boundaries between observer, performer, and artwork dissolved into a unified field of aesthetic experience. Distinguished musicians from The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University, including vibraphonist Jack Huang and pianist Elisse Ngbo, engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the visual works, transforming the coffee shop into an instrument of artistic synthesis.
A Triptych in Jazz succeeded in its ambitious goal of creating a multisensory experience that transcended traditional exhibition formats. Through its careful orchestration of visual art, musical performance, and spatial design, the exhibition offered visitors an opportunity to reflect on the profound connections between different modes of artistic expression while questioning conventional boundaries between artistic disciplines.
As the exhibition concluded its journey from Dear Mama to Columbia University’s JLG Center, it left behind a resonant meditation on the nature of artistic cross-pollination and the infinite possibilities that emerge when different creative languages converse freely in shared space. In its brief existence, it created a temporary universe where the boundaries between visual and auditory expression dissolved, leaving echoes that continue to reverberate in the collective memory of those who experienced it.
