Contemporary works and abstract expressionist masterpieces converge in "Shade," a collaborative presentation by the Denver Art Museum and Clyfford Still Museum that puts paintings by renowned contemporary American artist Mark Bradford in dialogue with work by American painter Clyfford Still.

In Shade, Bradford underscores the legacy of abstract expressionism and explores abstraction’s power to address social and political concerns. The exhibition examines both his and Still’s unique relationship to black in their paintings, whether it’s used to force viewers out of their comfort zones, evoke emotions, or confront conventional notions of race. Bradford reads Still’s relationship with black as an open-ended invitation for dialogue. Bradford says, "For me as an artist, I am much more interested in questions than answers. 'Shade' is simply putting questions into the public domain."