Never The Same River

Curated by Dexter Wimberly

Never The Same River, explores themes of bodily autonomy and human migration. The exhibition’s title draws on the famous remark attributed to ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus that “No man ever steps in the same river twice.” This idea captures the show’s meditation on change and impermanence: just as rivers flow and bodies evolve, so too do our identities, perceptions, and environments. The river becomes a metaphor for transformation, an ever-shifting current that reflects the complexity of human experience and the impossibility of returning to a fixed state. 

At its core, the show considers how individuals assert agency over their own bodies in the face of cultural and systemic forces that seek to control or define them. Reflecting on the tension and trauma surrounding migration, whether by necessity or by choice, the movement of people coincides with histories of displacement, resistance, and resilience. Through photography, video, sculpture, and painting, the participating artists interrogate these narratives imposed on bodies and borders alike. Their works reveal how storytelling, whether personal or mythological, can challenge dominant ideologies and reclaim space for self-definition.

Together, the artists and their works confront illusions of the status quo with fluid, merging forms and scenes, expanding beyond disciplinary limits, while casting off frameworks projected onto both bodies and borders.

Image: Adama Delphine Fawundu. Ngewo Whispers, 2023. Courtesy of the Artist.

About the Curator

Dexter Wimberly is an American entrepreneur and curator based in Japan who has organized exhibitions in galleries and institutions around the world, including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City; Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas; The Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte; KOKI Arts and STANDING PINE in Tokyo; BODE in Berlin; Lehmann Maupin in London; SECCI in Milan; Efie Gallery; and The Third Line in Dubai.

Wimberly’s recent exhibitions include Derrick Adams: View Master on view at ICA/Boston, through September 7, 2026; The Shape of Things to Come at Efie Gallery in Dubai, UAE; A Material Dance: Lucio Fontana and Alteronce Gumby at SECCI in Milan, Italy; A Direct Response to Light: 21st Century Painting at ALEXANDER BERGGRUEN in New York City; and What is Possible, What is Promised at Galerie Isa in Mumbai, India. In 2023, Wimberly participated in Hauser & Wirth’s International Curatorial Residency Symposium in Somerset, England. His exhibitions have been reviewed and featured in publications including The New York Times and Artforum and have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and The Kinkade Family Foundation. Wimberly has been profiled in Elle Decor and Artnet News. He is a Senior Critic at New York Academy of Art and the founder and director of the Hayama Artist Residency and The Kyoto Retreat in Japan. Wimberly is the co-founder of Art World Conference and CreativeStudy. Prior to his curatorial career, he was the managing partner of the New York-based advertising and marketing agency August Bishop, representing a diverse array of clients including Adidas, The Coca-Cola Company, and HBO.