Patricia Ekpo
Assistant Professor, History of Art & Visual Studies
Academic focus:
Black contemporary art, critical black studies and psychoanalysis
Current research project:
My current book project examines the life and artwork of African American artist Beverly Buchanan (1940-2015), including her architectural painting, environmental and shack sculptures, photography, storytelling and personal archival materials. It links the shared conditions of ruination and abstraction of Buchanan’s life and artwork to illuminate Blackness as a form of lived abstraction.
Previous positions:
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, Brown University, 2024-2025
Academic background:
- Ph.D., American studies; certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Yale University, 2024
- B.A. American studies and gender & sexuality studies, Brown University, 2015
Last book read:
“If Only” by Vigdis Hjorth
In your own time/when not working:
When I’m not working, I enjoy reading fiction with a psychoanalytic bent, perusing vintage and secondhand goods and attending WNBA games, particularly the New York Liberty.
Courses you’re most looking forward to teaching:
My fall course, Blackness, Gender and Representation, and a seminar on race and minimalism.
What most excites you about Cornell:
There is such a rich spectrum of areas of study represented at the university and I’m excited to interact with the diverse student body across the many different colleges and schools. This breadth speaks to my interdisciplinary background and I look forward to cultivating personal and scholarly relationships across disciplines and seeing what can grow from those connections. I’m also very excited to explore the nature that Ithaca has to offer — the lakes, falls, farms, trails and more that I probably have no idea about!
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