Titus Kaphar: Exhibiting Forgiveness

This book was published on the occasion of Titus Kaphar: Exhibiting Forgiveness at Gagosian, Beverly Hills, and accompanies the artist’s first narrative feature film, Exhibiting Forgiveness (2023). The fifteen paintings in the exhibition inspired and play a role in the semi-autobiographical film, which was written, directed, and produced by Kaphar. Exhibiting Forgiveness stars André Holland as Tarrell Rodin, an accomplished painter whose life is upended by an unexpected reunion with his father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks), a recovering addict who has been absent for Tarrell’s adult life. Haunted by La’Ron’s negligence and abusiveness when he was a boy, the protagonist struggles with coming to terms with the past and his father’s reemergence. Integral to the film, the paintings made by Kaphar play a central role in defining its narrative and symbolism.

The publication presents a draft of the script with marked-up lines, notes, and deleted scenes, juxtaposed with over 250 stills and photographs of the paintings. As such, it provides a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Exhibiting Forgiveness from script to screen and offers insights into Kaphar’s practice as a filmmaker and painter.