30 Americans @ The Corcoran

Art from the collection of the Rubell Family is currently on display at the Corcoran Gallery of Art here in Washington, D.C. The collection features art in various mediums by prominent and emergent Artists of African heritage. It's a powerful show full of social, cultural, sexual, and political ideas that express the wide diversity of Afro-centric ideology at the beginning of the 3rd millennium CE.

Here are five of my favorites:



John Banks was one of many new discoveries. I love the playful simple colors and color book quality of his canvases juxtaposed against their deeper cultural ideas.




Carrie Mae Weems was another new find. The plainspoken social commentary against the iconic civil war era photos is another powerful reinterpretation of history's legacy.



Hank Willis Thomas' photographs were also on display at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when I visited there back in June. The over-sized photos are stark and thoughtful images.




I followed the career of Wangechi Mutu for years. First encountered his work at the Berkeley Museum of Art at the University of California, Berkeley back in 2003. In 2004, I again came into contact with her whimsical and seductive images at the Cranbrook Art Gallery @ the Cranbrook Institute in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Watercolor and collage create organic forms that open the viewer to a range of interpretations ultimately requiring self-reflection and a deeper sense of self-awareness. And they're also just really beautiful.



The final example I'll share here is a detail of a work by Kehinde Wiley, another contemporary artist who I have adored since first encountering. His deeply iconic images of African American, Afro-Brazilian, and other men of color in classic poses against ornate backdrops which speak of fabrics and harken to the Kente clothes of west Africa are nearly often stunning explorations of the connection between beauty and masculinity. I believe he is a McArthur Genius recipient and if he's not, he should be.

These and so many more wonderful works of art await you at the Corcoran Gallery of Art here in Washington, D.C. through February 12, 2012. I highly recommend you take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.