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Exhibition

30 Americans

October 27, 2019 – January 12, 2020

About the Exhibition

Drawn from the exceptional Rubell Family Collection and on view in the Roberts Gallery, 30 Americans presents works by 30 important and influential contemporary African American artists. From the canonical to the cutting-edge, these artists explore identity against a backdrop of pervasive stereotyping—of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class—addressing intersectional politics in unique and powerful ways.

The Barnes presentation marks the tenth anniversary of this groundbreaking show and its long-awaited debut in Philadelphia.

 

Left to right: Rashid Johnson, Nick Cave, Kalup Linzy, Jeff Sonhouse, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, Barkley L. Hendricks, Hank Willis Thomas (front row), Xaviera Simmons, Purvis Young, John Bankston, Nina Chanel Abney, Henry Taylor, Mickalene Thomas (front row), Kerry James Marshall, and Shinique Smith. Photo by Kwaku Alston, December 5, 2008

Featured Artists

Nina Chanel Abney
John Bankston
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Mark Bradford
Nick Cave
Robert Colescott
Noah Davis
Leonardo Drew
Renée Green
David Hammons
Barkley L. Hendricks
Rashid Johnson
Glenn Ligon
Kalup Linzy
Kerry James Marshall
Rodney McMillian
Wangechi Mutu
William Pope.L
Rozeal
Gary Simmons
Xaviera Simmons
Lorna Simpson
Shinique Smith
Henry Taylor
Hank Willis Thomas
Mickalene Thomas
Kara Walker
Carrie Mae Weems
Kehinde Wiley
Purvis Young

Exhibition Catalogue

30 Americans

$50

This beautifully illustrated catalogue highlights some of the most pressing social and political issues facing our country today. In addition to essays by Robert Hobbs, Glenn Ligon, Franklin Sirmans, and Michele Wallace, this expanded fourth edition contains new artworks and 22 commissioned writings by artists in the exhibition. (Hardcover, 224 pages.)

Included as part of the tenth-anniversary presentation at the Barnes is a new illustrated essay by curator Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw. (Softcover, 20 pages.)

Exhibition Organization

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw is organizing curator of 30 Americans and the curator of the presentation at the Barnes.

Sponsors

This exhibition is sponsored by

Works in this exhibition are from the Rubell Family Collection.

Generous support for this exhibition comes from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and Aileen and Brian Roberts.

Critical support for all exhibitions comes from contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund:

Joan Carter and John Aglialoro • Julia and David Fleischner • Leigh and John Middleton • Jeanette and Joe Neubauer

John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Christine and Michael Angelakis, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Lois and Julian Brodsky, N. Judith Broudy, Laura and Bill Buck, Elaine W. Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr., Gloria and John Drosdick, Eugene and Michelle Dubay, Christine and George Henisee, Lisa D. Kabnick and John H. McFadden, Marguerite Lenfest, Victoria McNeil Le Vine, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Kay and Michael Park, The Rittenhouse Hotel, Adele K. Schaeffer, Katie and Tony Schaeffer, Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Joan F. Thalheimer, van Beuren Charitable Foundation, Kirsten White, Anonymous.

With support from other contributing donors.