Harmony Korine to Showcase Artwork in First U.S. Museum Exhibit at ICA Miami
Multidisciplinary Artist Harmony Korine to Feature in First Major U.S. Museum Survey
Miami, FL – Acclaimed multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Harmony Korine is gearing up for his inaugural major U.S. museum survey, titled Harmony Korine: Perfect Nonsense. This extensive exhibition is set to open at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) on April 15, 2026, and will provide an in-depth exploration of Korine’s three-decade career.
The exhibition will showcase over 50 works, many of which will be publicly displayed for the first time. It aims to shed light on Korine’s artistic evolution across various media. Widely recognized for authoring the influential 1995 film Kids at the age of 19, Korine has consistently pushed the boundaries of traditional filmmaking, venturing into painting, photography, collage, drawing, and virtual environments.
Curated by Alex Gartenfeld, Irma and Norman Braman Artistic Director at ICA Miami, along with Gean Moreno, Director of the Art + Research Center, Perfect Nonsense delves into Korine’s enduring interest in the themes of adolescence, the outsider experience, and the interplay between celebrity and authenticity. The exhibition unfolds through a series of thematic chapters, highlighting key collaborations with artists like Christopher Wool and Rita Ackermann.
The exhibition opens with Korine’s early works dating from 1997 and onward, establishing his focus on non-linear storytelling. This segment includes collages, handwritten notes, and paintings that address themes such as vulnerability and alienation through childlike figures. As the exhibition progresses, these motifs evolve into inquiries about aggression and subcultural aesthetics, featuring his film Trash Humpers and the Shadow Fux paintings.
In a noteworthy shift towards the social margins, the exhibition also features photographs of Macaulay Culkin from a period of seclusion, displayed alongside appropriated imagery from Norwegian black metal culture. This section introduces “Twitchy,” a ghostly character that combines low-resolution iPhone technology with traditional painting techniques.
The “Florida Room” chapter of the exhibition reflects Korine’s deep engagement with Miami over the past decade, highlighting how the city’s cultural landscape and the gothic nuances of the American South have influenced his recent abstract and figurative works.
The exhibition culminates in Aggro Dr1ft, Korine’s latest multidisciplinary project that explores digital aesthetics, gaming culture, and hyper-stylized violence, blurring the boundaries between film, painting, and virtual spaces.
“Harmony Korine is one of the most singular and uncompromising voices in contemporary culture,” Gartenfeld stated in a press release. “His inclination to challenge conventions and blur disciplinary boundaries, alongside his longstanding connection to Miami, makes ICA Miami a fitting venue for his first solo institutional exhibition.”
Gean Moreno added that Korine is recognized as a leading visual artist in the city. “Korine’s work resists coherence and embraces intuition and fragmentation as strategies for seeing the world differently,” Moreno remarked.
Harmony Korine: Perfect Nonsense will be on display at ICA Miami from April 15 through October 4, 2026.
