30 Americans: Rubell Museum

Nationally celebrated as one of the most important exhibitions of contemporary art in the United States within the last decade, 30 Americans showcases an influential group of prominant African American artists who have emerged as leading contributors to the contemporary art scene in the US and beyond. The and accompanying catalog explores the evolving roles of black subjects in the art since the 1970s and highlights some of the most pressing social and political issues facing our country today, including ongoing narratives of racial inequality; the construction of racial, gender and sexual identity; and the pernicious underpinning and effects of stereotyping.

Many of the artists in this exhibition interrogate how African Americans are represented, politicized and contested in the arts, media and popular culture. Several are driven by the exclusion of black subjects in art throughout much of history and celebrate and glorify black subjects through pictorial traditions including genre painting and portraiture. In addition to essays by Robert Hobbs, Glenn Ligon, Franklin Sirmans, and Michelle Wallace, this expanded fourth edition contains new artworks and 22 commissioned writings by artists in the exhibition about artworks in the catalog.