PICTURE ID: Contemporary African American Works on Paper

A new exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art examines the work of contemporary African American artists who use a mixture of text and images to tackle cultural stereotypes and challenge oppressive racial characterizations. PICTURE ID: Contemporary African American Works on Paper, which was scheduled to open in March and postponed due to the coronavirus, will be on view for the public beginning August 4 in Gallery 4. The exhibition will close on January 17, 2021. All works in the exhibition are drawn from TMA’s permanent collection.

The nine artists featured – Glenn Ligon, Howardena Pindell, Adrian Piper, Martin Puryear, John Rozelle, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and Fred Wilson – created works in response to artistic developments and cultural debates prevalent through the late 1980s and 1990s in the United States. These included the rise of multicultural activism, concerns surrounding the AIDS crisis, conservative social and economic policies, rapid gentrification and increasing urban crime.