Contemporary America

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

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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

Norman Lewis, <em>Untitled</em>
Norman Lewis, Untitled

Lewis leaves behind the figure for abstracted fragments at the end of World War II

Representing the inner self: Charles Sebree’s <i>The Mystic</i>
Representing the inner self: Charles Sebree’s The Mystic

Charles Sebree expresses his inner self in The Mystic.

Kehinde Wiley, <i>Rumors of War</i>
Kehinde Wiley, Rumors of War

A monumental solution, rethinking the sculpture of Richmond

Contemporary politics and classical architecture: Federal Building and Courthouse, Tuscaloosa
Contemporary politics and classical architecture: Federal Building and Courthouse, Tuscaloosa

This federal building inspires discussion over neoclassical architecture's ties to the ideals of democracy and contemporary American politics.

Monument Avenue and the Lost Cause
Monument Avenue and the Lost Cause

A conversation that took place on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, just before the last Confederate monument on the boulevard was removed in September 2021

Stefanie Jackson, <i>Bluest Eye</i>
Stefanie Jackson, Bluest Eye

Taking the name from Toni Morrison's debut novel, this painting's figures and scenes show the clash of innocence and the adult violence of bigotry and hatred

An artist asks: war or healthcare?
An artist asks: war or healthcare?

Sue Coe's Aids won't wait, the enemy is here not in Kuwait, 1990

A desert on fire, Salgado in Kuwait
A desert on fire, Salgado in Kuwait

Finding heroism amidst one of the world's great environmental disasters.