February 22, 2020–June 20, 2021

Defining what it means to be American is not an easy feat. It’s a question that has been posited since the country’s founding and the answer is not finite, but rather ever-changing and subjective. For centuries, artists have sought to capture that which is American in an attempt to define something that is largely intangible.

Here, the works of American artists including Audrey Flack, Beverly McIver, Alison Saar, and Fritz Scholder are highlighted in an effort to give voice to the breadth of artists whose work engages with questions of identity. Through their use of iconic imagery or self-representation, these artists’ pointed visual expressions provide greater insight to this perpetual question and help to call into question, and at times challenge, our understanding of what it means to be American.