Pierre Bismuth Opens “Love Bless America” in Chicago, with Meditative Film and American Flags

French artist and filmmaker Pierre Bismuth opened on Saturday, September 26, 2026, his newest solo exhibition, “Love Bless America,” at the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society at the University of Chicago, as the e-flux portal reports. The exhibition will remain open through January 8, 2027. The opening reception was held from 2 to 5 p.m., with a live performance at 2:15 by jazz bassist Joshua Abrams and composer and pianist Sharon Udoh.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a new feature-length meditative film project documenting the creative collaboration between Abrams and Udoh in composing a “21st-century spiritual” based on a hymn with lyrics written by Bismuth himself. The film, shot from four camera angles, closely follows the magic and everyday work of “inspiration.”

Alongside the film, Bismuth presents a series of digital images resembling American flags decorated with verses from the hymn. The exhibition was created with an eye toward the 250th anniversary of the United States and connects the notion of divine love with the ancient American tradition of gospel music and spirituals, according to the University of Chicago’s official announcement. It is the fruit of the Neubauer Collegium’s “Love/Music” research initiative and is curated by Dieter Roelstraete.

Pierre Bismuth (born 1963) is a French conceptual artist, winner of the Oscar for the screenplay of the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004). The opening was held as part of the 20th edition of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, at 5701 S. Woodlawn Ave, Chicago.