Image: Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee
The Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee will present ‘Iké Udé: Sartorial Anarchy,’ an exhibition of photographic self-portraits by the Nigerian-born artist, from August 28 through December 19, 2026. The exhibition is part of the museum’s fall presentation ‘The Otherworld is Home,’ a group of three exhibitions examining cultural identity, personal reclamation, spiritual passage and connections across Africa’s diasporas.
Udé’s ongoing ‘Sartorial Anarchy’ series combines clothing and objects drawn from different historical periods and geographic traditions. In the resulting images, the artist transforms himself into a succession of personas that disrupt familiar signs of cultural and individual identity. The Haggerty describes the works as celebrations of African beauty that also question fixed ideas about cultural belonging.
The artist, who now lives in New York City, acts as designer, scene painter, performer and photographer in the self-portraits. The museum says the works’ colours, patterns and textures suggest art-historical influences ranging from Johannes Vermeer to Jacob Lawrence, while their shifting perspectives invite consideration of the relationship between inner and outward selves.
Udé has described the series as a deliberate mixing of traditions, countries and time frames. “In each image, I married disparate costumes from widely diverse traditions, countries, and time frames,” he says in the exhibition text. “And in mixing eras and cultures, I was able to bring harmony, as it were, to their similarly irreconcilable differences.”
The title ‘Sartorial Anarchy’ signals that the project extends beyond fashion. “Part of my job,” Udé states, “is to keep beautifying Africa for the world, one portrait at a time.” The museum characterizes his personas as confident and elegant, with identities that are multifaceted and distinctly—but not exclusively—African.
The exhibition is curated by Lynne Shumow, the Haggerty Museum’s curator for academic engagement. Listed works include ‘Sartorial Anarchy #22,’ ‘Sartorial Anarchy #26’ and ‘Sartorial Anarchy #33,’ all from 2013 and presented as inkjet prints courtesy of Leila Heller Gallery. The exhibition’s support is provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Emmett J. Doerr Endowment Fund.
‘Sartorial Anarchy’ will be shown alongside the Haggerty’s fall exhibitions ‘African Art: Ancient Roots, Enduring Values’ and ‘Thresholds.’ The museum is free and open to the public six days a week, with regular hours listed as Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A lunchtime gallery talk on Udé’s exhibition is scheduled for September 22, 2026, at noon.
