Ritual, spirituality, and transcendence

Spirituality remains important, but it takes on new forms in the global contemporary era.

1980 - present

videos + essays

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Do Ho Suh, <i>Rubbing/Loving</i>
Do Ho Suh, Rubbing/Loving

Contemporary artist Do Ho Suh covers every surface in the apartment that was his home and studio for eighteen years with white paper, rubbing with colored pencil all of the space's memory-provoking details.

Tenzing Rigdol, <em>Pin drop silence: Eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara </em>
Tenzing Rigdol, Pin drop silence: Eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara

In Tenzing Rigdol’s Pin drop silence: Eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara, we encounter a traditional Buddhist deity in an artwork that is anything but conventional .

Roger Minick, <em>Woman with Scarf at Inspiration Point, Yosemite National Park</em>
Roger Minick, Woman with Scarf at Inspiration Point, Yosemite National Park

The majesty of Yosemite National Park — with Roger Minick and the woman with the scarf.

James Turrell, <em>Skyspace, the way of color</em>
James Turrell, Skyspace, the way of color

A viewing station for sunrise and sunset, Turrell’s work manipulates light, time, and perception.

Mariko Mori, <em>Pure Land</em>
Mariko Mori, Pure Land

In her immersive dreamscapes, Mori transforms the celestial attendants of Buddhist art into pastel-colored aliens.

Bruce Nauman, <em>The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths</em>
Bruce Nauman, The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths

Using the medium of mass culture, Nauman brought high-brow questions about the role of art to broader society.

Clarissa Rizal, <em>Resilience Robe</em>
Clarissa Rizal, Resilience Robe

Chilkat weaving has been practiced by Tlingit for hundreds of years; here modernity and tradition weave together.

Xu Bing, <em>Book from the Sky</em>
Xu Bing, Book from the Sky

Xu Bing’s text is illegible—even to those who can read Chinese.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye, <em>Earth’s Creation</em>
Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Earth’s Creation

Kngwarreye’s rise to prominence as an internationally recognized artist doesn’t fit the typical mold.

Bill Viola, <em>The Crossing</em>
Bill Viola, The Crossing

Viola’s multi-channel video installations experiment with meditative states and the manipulation of time.

Chris Ofili, <em>The Holy Virgin Mary</em>
Chris Ofili, The Holy Virgin Mary

Why did the mayor of New York City threaten to close the museum exhibiting Ofili’s painting of the Virgin Mary?

Selected Contributors