Focus Group

Group Show

Sep 3, 2024 – Jan 30, 2025

Roy Lichtenstein

The Oval Office, 1992

Artists

Elaine Angelopoulos
Joseph Beuys
Nancy Chunn
Nancy Chunn & David McDevitt
Chuck Close
Shepard Fairey
Rico Gatson
Leon Golub
Helen Mayer & Newton Harrison
Jenny Holzer
Robert Indiana
Ilya Kabakov
Deborah Kass
Komar & Melamid
Vitaly Komar
Les Levine
Roy Lichtenstein
Chris Lord
Alex Melamid
David Opdyke
William Pope L.
Robert Rauschenberg
Ed Ruscha
Julian Schnabel
Andres Serrano
Ben Shahn
Federico Solmi
Nancy Spero
Kara Walker
Carrie Mae Weems
William Wegman
Lou Woehrle

Description

United by their assertive, sometimes insistent, political messages, the fifty-two works by thirty-three artists included in this exhibition offer a select and lively perspective on American elections, politicians and social power dynamics. Spanning more than five decades, the works not only refer to political subjects and social issues specific to their time, but also resonate with ideological and humanistic themes amazingly relevant today.

This exhibition invites the viewer to compare and contrast many visual strategies that explore issues of racism, demagoguery, oppression, war, climate change, among others. Some artists employ tools such as satire, propaganda, and the portrayal of newsworthy events or utopian ideals. Others utilize more iconic subjects—such as U.S. presidents, Uncle Sam, the Oval Office, and Old Glory—to celebrate, examine, and critique American governance and policy.

Focus Group features works by the following artists:

Elaine Angelopoulos, Joseph Beuys, Nancy Chunn, Nancy Chunn/David McDevitt, Chuck Close, Shepard Fairey, Rico Gatson, Leon Golub, Helen Mayer Harrison & Newton Harrison, Jenny Holzer, Robert Indiana, Ilya Kabakov, Deborah Kass, Vitaly Komar, Komar & Melamid, Les Levine, Roy Lichtenstein, Chris Lord, Alexander Melamid, David Opdyke, William Pope.L, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Julian Schnabel, Andres Serrano, Ben Shahn, Federico Solmi, Nancy Spero, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol, Carrie Mae Weems, William Wegman, and Lou Woehrle.