Figuration, the body, and representation

1980–today

All content

Anita Fields, <em>Elements of Being</em>
Anita Fields, Elements of Being

Completely constructed in earthenware, these life-size figures suggest a transcendent power.

JooYoung Choi, <em>Journey to the Cosmic Womb</em>
JooYoung Choi, Journey to the Cosmic Womb

Much like the cover of a comic book, Choi’s animated painting tells the stories of heroes and villains in an imagined universe.

Shizu Saldamando, <em>Sandra and Tammy, Hollywood Forever</em>
Shizu Saldamando, Sandra and Tammy, Hollywood Forever

Set in Los Angeles' Hollywood Forever cemetery, Saldamando's loving portrait of two friends captures an authentic moment in time and place.

Gazellah Bruder, <em>Goddess I Am</em> and <em>Feeding the Gods of Melanesia</em>
Gazellah Bruder, Goddess I Am and Feeding the Gods of Melanesia

Bruder portrays strong, resilient women that counter Euro-American stereotypical depictions of the people of Melanesia.

Alfred Conteh, <em>Our Greatest Inheritance</em>
Alfred Conteh, Our Greatest Inheritance

Through portraiture, Conteh expresses the love and care between a father and his children.

Tsherin Sherpa, <em>Muted Expressions</em>
Tsherin Sherpa, Muted Expressions

Using traditional Nepalese metalworking techniques, Sherpa creates a distinctly contemporary sculpture.

Richard Prince, <em>Nurse Elsa</em>
Richard Prince, Nurse Elsa

Prince's bubblegum pink painting is an incredible testament to media culture.

Shahzia Sikander, <em>Pleasure Pillars</em>
Shahzia Sikander, Pleasure Pillars

Sikander models acts of transformation—of the self, of a community, of cultures, and of history—in this small watercolor painting.

Ilana Savdie, <em>Thirty-Seven Counts</em> and <em>Trismus</em>
Ilana Savdie, Thirty-Seven Counts and Trismus

Abstracted human, animal, and parasitic forms create both an alluring and grotesque image.

Elizabeth Catlett, <em>Invisible Man</em>
Elizabeth Catlett, Invisible Man

Celebrating the novelist Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man also testifies to Catlett’s lifelong artistic commitment to the struggles of Black Americans.

Linda Vallejo, <em>The Brown Dot Project</em>
Linda Vallejo, The Brown Dot Project

Using the language of minimalism and conceptual art, Vallejo brings to light the impact of Latinx people in the U.S.

Rina Banerjee, commerce out of the Earth
Rina Banerjee, commerce out of the Earth

Using found objects, Rina Banerjee illuminates the obscured histories of Black and South Asian populations in New Orleans.

Selected Contributors