Hank Willis Thomas frequently repurposes imagery from popular culture, especially as it pertains to race and representation. A Suspension of Hostilities (2019 ) faithfully replicate the iconic muscle car from the 1980’s hit TV show The Dukes of Hazzard. Named the General Lee after Robert E. Lee, the car was famous for its airborne leaps along the hilly Georgia back roads, with the characters of Bo and Luke Duke at the wheel, typically in flight from the local law. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Hank Willis Thomas, A Suspension of Hostilities→
John Baeder’s Stardust Motel (1977), is a crisp, sunlit portrait of American roadside culture at its most iconic. Known for his photorealist paintings of diners, gas stations, and motels, Baeder treats the Stardust not as nostalgia-soaked ruin, but as a proud, functioning emblem of mid-century optimism. The signage is clean, declarative, and bold, the sky impossibly blue —everything rendered with the precision of a memory you’re not quite sure you actually lived. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: John Baeder, Stardust Motel→
Audrey Flack (1931 – 2024) was the most prominent woman artist to gain recognition as a photorealist in the 1960s and 1970s. She approached the genre of still life, which for centuries had been considered unprestigious by European and North American standards, with irreverent pleasure. Leonardo’s Lady (1974) presents tokens of traditional femininity (a jeweled bubble, embroidered ribbon, pink rose, and pressed powder compact), frivolity (effervescent champagne and shiny objects), and sexuality (a ripe, dripping pear and a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci‘s portrait of Francis I’s reputed mistress). Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Audrey Flack Leonardo’s Lady→
Dwayne Hansen’s 1974 sculpture of a Drug Addict slumped on the ground with a heroin needle in hand is rooted in the artist’s commitment to raise social consciousness by exposing the country’s harsh realities. In 1969, Hanson declared, “it is time for the artist to be ugly, obvious, and shock the people.” Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Duane Hanson, Drug Addict→
