Contemporary America

From the skyscapes to shoelaces — art as diverse as our contemporary culture.

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Firelei Báez, <em>Untitled (A Correct Chart of Hispaniola with the Windward Passage)</em>
Firelei Báez, Untitled (A Correct Chart of Hispaniola with the Windward Passage)

A partially obscured figure crouches over a historical map of Hispaniola in an act of anticolonial resistance.

Luis Alfonso Jiménez, <em>Eagle</em>
Luis Alfonso Jiménez, Eagle

A symbol of the U.S. and Mexico, the eagle reflects Jiménez's Chicano identity.

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.

Alice Aycock, <em>Low Building with Dirt Roof (For Mary)</em>
Alice Aycock, Low Building with Dirt Roof (For Mary)

A work of non-functional architecture, Aycock’s structure evokes personal memories and associations to the ancient past.

Martin Puryear, <em>Lookout</em>
Martin Puryear, Lookout

Pierced with holes, this architectural sculpture offers both shelter from and exposure to the surrounding elements.

Rashid Johnson, <em>Stacked Heads</em>
Rashid Johnson, Stacked Heads

From Johnson's hollow, scarred bronze sculpture, nature is bursting forth.

Maya Lin, <em>Ghost Forest</em>
Maya Lin, Ghost Forest

Installed in Madison Square Park, these skeletal trees express the devastation of climate change.

Barbara Zucker, <em>Mix, Stir, Pour (White Floor Piece)</em>
Barbara Zucker, Mix, Stir, Pour (White Floor Piece)

Mix, Stir, Pour: a feminist action.

Amy Sherald, <em>Precious Jewels by the Sea</em>
Amy Sherald, Precious Jewels by the Sea

This monumental painting of Black people at the beach speaks to a dearth of Black figures in the art history canon

Alma Thomas, <em>Lunar Rendezvous—Circle of Flowers</em>
Alma Thomas, Lunar Rendezvous—Circle of Flowers

Thomas takes inspiration from both the 1969 moon landing and her backyard garden

Harry Fonseca, <em>Two Coyotes with Flags</em>
Harry Fonseca, Two Coyotes with Flags

Cartoonish coyotes play on Fonseca's overlapping identities as queer, American, and Indigenous.

Richard Mayhew, <em>Indigenous Spiritual Space</em>
Richard Mayhew, Indigenous Spiritual Space

Explosions of color signify a landscape, real or imagined