30 Americans Art Exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art

30 Americans - Preview from Corcoran Gallery of Art on Vimeo.


30 Americans is a wide-ranging survey of work by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades. Selected from the Rubell Family Collection, the exhibition brings together seminal figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and David Hammons with younger and emerging artists such as Kehinde Wiley and Shinique Smith. Often provocative and challenging, 30 Americans focuses on issues of racial, sexual, and historical identity in contemporary culture. It explores how each artist reckons with the notion of black identity in America, navigating such concerns as the struggle for civil rights, popular culture, and media imagery. At the same time, it highlights artistic legacy and influence, tracing subject matter and formal strategies across generations.

The exhibit runs from Oct 1st - Feb 12th 2011 in Washington, DC. For more information, visit http://www2.corcoran.org/30americans/explore  I encourage you to go out and see these works because that's how you encourage more exhibits like it to be produced. As a sneak peak, below are some of the works of the artists. Enjoy!

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bird On Money, 1981.

Acrylic and oil on canvas, 66 x 90 inches.

 Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2008.

Fabric, fiberglass, and metal, 102 x 36 x 28 inches.

 Robert Colescott, Pygmalion, 1987.

Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 114 inches.

 Barkley L. Hendricks, Noir, 1978.

Oil and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 48 inches.

 iona rozeal brown, Sacrifice #2:

It Has to Last (after Yoshitoshi's “Drowsy:

the appearance of a harlot of the Meiji era”), 2007.

Enamel, acrylic and paper on wooden panel, 52 x 38 inches.

Rashid Johnson, The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club (Thurgood), 2008.

Lambda print, 69 x 55 1/2 inches.  

 Xaviera Simmons, One Day and Back Then (Standing), 2007.

Color Photograph, 30 x 40 inches.

Hank Willis Thomas, Basketball and Chain, 2003.

Digital C-print, 99 x 55 inches.  

 Mickalene Thomas, Baby I Am Ready Now, 2007.

Acrylic, rhinestone, and enamel on wooden panel,

diptych, 72 x 132 inches overall;

72 x 60 inches, left panel; 72 x 72 inches, right panel.

 Kehinde Wiley, Sleep, 2008.

Oil on canvas, 132 x 300 inches.

The exhibit was graciously organized by the Rubell Family Collection, Miami. The presenting sponsor at the Corcoran Gallery of Art is Altria Group. Additional support was provided by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The full list of all the featured artists is below.

NINA CHANEL ABNEY

JOHN BANKSTON

JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT

MARK BRADFORD

IONA ROZEAL BROWN

NICK CAVE

ROBERT COLESCOTT

NOAH DAVIS

LEONARDO DREW

RENEE GREEN

DAVID HAMMONS

BARKLEY L. HENDRICKS

RASHID JOHNSON

GLENN LIGON

KALUP LINZY

KERRY JAMES MARSHALL

RODNEY MCMILLIAN

WANGECHI MUTU

WILLIAM POPE.L

GARY SIMMONS

XAVIERA SIMMONS

LORNA SIMPSON

SHINIQUE SMITH

JEFF SONHOUSE

HENRY TAYLOR

HANK WILLIS THOMAS

MICKALENE THOMAS

KARA WALKER

CARRIE MAE WEEMS

KEHINDE WILEY

PURVIS YOUNG