Unmasking History: Inside the ‘Future Past Tense’ Exhibition at Patricia Sweetow Gallery

Inside the Los Angeles art exhibition exploring ancestral memory, systemic erasure, and the deep layers of intersectional contemporary art.

From September 12 through October 30, 2026, Los Angeles’ Patricia Sweetow Gallery presents Future Past Tense, a captivating new exhibition featuring works by Esperanza Cortés, Cheryl Derricotte, Karen Hampton, Asa Jackson, and Fay Ku. Grounded in deep historical research and deeply personal narratives, the artists in this exhibition mirror historical and private chronicles to unmask past and future intersectionality. Their collective work posits a powerful truth: that today is permanently embedded in the immutable shadows of yesteryear.

Whether through sculpture, glass, indigo tapestries, or phantasmic drawings, these five visionaries challenge systems of erasure and reshape how we understand the passage of time.

Esperanza Cortés: Sculpting Resistance Against Colonialism

Based in New York City, Colombian-born multidisciplinary artist Esperanza Cortés places folk-art traditions, rituals, music, and dance of the Americas at the core of her practice. On view are her freestanding and wall sculptures crafted from clay and beads. These intricate pieces are deliberately designed to counter and disrupt prevailing narratives of colonialism. Visitors can experience selections from her celebrated Las Mineras and Cante Jando series. Beyond this gallery space, Cortés is also preparing for her upcoming solo exhibition, Embroidered Allegories, opening September 3, 2026, at the Hispanic Society Museum and Library in New York City.

Cheryl Derricotte: Reclaiming Erasure in Glass and Ink

San Francisco-based artist Cheryl Derricotte works with beautiful, heavy materials—glass, textiles, and prints—to investigate themes of race, environment, economics, politics, and community. Her art frequently honors forgotten Black female historical figures who have been systemically erased from visibility. A prime example is her 2022 limited-edition artist book and elegant glass table settings made in honor of Mary Ellen Pleasant, a formerly enslaved woman who rose to become one of the wealthiest Black women in Gold-Rush-era San Francisco. In Future Past Tense, Derricotte presents a new series of glass books with fictitious titles like Rooted in Place, Watercolor Techniques, and Nature Walks. These stunning sculptures symbolize the systemic exclusion of Black Americans from various everyday avocations and professional fields.

Karen Hampton: Indigo Psychic Maps of Ancestral Memory

Fiber artist Karen Hampton spent years tracing her ancestry, knowing her surname originated from the South Carolina plantation where her ancestors were enslaved as “property of the estate.” When Hampton finally visited the Hampton Plantation, she was overwhelmed by the immense historical trauma and heard the cries of spirits filtering through the creaking floorboards and walls—an experience shared by the estate’s docents. Her contribution to the exhibition, two dyed indigo tapestries titled Ghost 1 and Ghost 2, serve as psychic maps of the Hampton Plantation. Now restored as a state park, the site stands as a testament to spirits that refuse to let their histories be erased.

Asa Jackson: Threading the Line from Slavery to Incarceration

Currently serving as the President and CEO of the McColl Center in North Carolina, Asa Jackson presents monumental tapestries sewn from hand-dyed corded cotton. Utilizing horizontal and vertical fields of color, Jackson’s gridded topographies reference early African American quilts, maps, landscapes, and royal cloaks. Crucially, Jackson occasionally exposes the reverse side of these tapestries, which are crafted from repurposed denim cotton. Through this medium, Jackson draws a stark historical parallel: indigo-dyed cotton once served as the forced uniform of enslaved laborers, and today, denim cotton still serves as the uniform for the incarcerated.

Fay Ku: Navigating the Tenses of Cultural Dislocation

Taiwanese-born artist Fay Ku, currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at Pratt Institute, explores cultural accommodation through phantasmic drawings. After emigrating from Taiwan to join her parents in the United States, Ku initially spoke only Mandarin—a language that operates strictly in the present tense. Learning English in elementary school introduced her to a vernacular that continuously dislocates time. Her visual style is heavily fueled by her father’s vivid storytelling. A passionate history student, her father shared dramatic tales of camaraderie, loss, and violence during China’s Cultural Revolution. Ku’s drawings weave these myths and memories, featuring defiant protagonists who conquer air and sea, shifting between human and animal forms to distort cultural dislocation with aplomb.

Exhibition & Event Information

The exhibition runs from September 12 through October 30, 2026, at Patricia Sweetow Gallery, located at 1700 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021, USA. An exclusive Artists Conversation will take place on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 2:00 PM, featuring Cheryl Derricotte, Karen Hampton, and Asa Jackson. Please note that seating is limited for this special event. A reception for the artists will follow immediately after the conversation from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM. For more information, please visit the official Patricia Sweetow Gallery website.