Overlapping Empires is a site-wide contemporary art exhibition by Jamaica-born, Bronx-based artist Samantha Box, on view at Van Cortlandt House Museum from June through August 2026. Installed throughout the historic house, the exhibition brings contemporary art into direct dialogue with one of New York City’s earliest colonial sites.
Working across still-life photography, sound and installation, Overlapping Empires foregrounds the house as an active site of imperial systems - Dutch, British, and American - rather than a neutral container of history. Utilizing the visual language of 17th-century still-life painting, tourism imagery, and contemporary product photography, these works, as installed in relation to the rooms, objects, and landscapes of the House, trace the aesthetic and economic logics through which empire persists.
Overlapping Empires will open on June 5, 2026 and will be accompanied by a series of free public programs, including artist-led walkthroughs, online and in-person talks, focused tours, and panel discussions.
Working across still-life photography, sound and installation, Overlapping Empires foregrounds the house as an active site of imperial systems - Dutch, British, and American - rather than a neutral container of history. Utilizing the visual language of 17th-century still-life painting, tourism imagery, and contemporary product photography, these works, as installed in relation to the rooms, objects, and landscapes of the House, trace the aesthetic and economic logics through which empire persists.
Overlapping Empires will open on June 5, 2026 and will be accompanied by a series of free public programs, including artist-led walkthroughs, online and in-person talks, focused tours, and panel discussions.
