| Discover the intertwined histories of American sculpture and race in the United States. The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture is now open at SAAM. |
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| A New Look at American Sculpture |
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The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture
Now on View Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW Sculpture is all around us, but when was the last time you really thought about it?
Now open at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture is a groundbreaking look at the intertwined histories of American sculpture and race in the United States. Featuring 70 artists whose work crosses time, scale and media, the exhibition brings together American sculpture in its many forms to explore its role in understanding and constructing the concept of race in the United States.
The Shape of Power brings together 82 sculptures created between 1792 and 2023 and ranging in size from palm-sized coins to monumental statues created from diverse media such as bronze, marble, shoes, paper, and hair. It draws extensively on works from SAAM’s collection, which is the largest collection of American sculpture in the world. |
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Today! Opening Day Program |
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The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture Open House
Friday, November 8, 1–4 p.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Cunniffe Galleries
Free | Registration required Join curators and artists for an open house celebrating the opening of SAAM’s exhibition, The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture. Listen to gallery talks by curators Karen Lemmey, Grace Yasumura, and Tobias Wofford for an in-depth look at themes in the exhibition, then mingle with artists whose work is on view, including Elia Alba, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Raven Halfmoon, Young Joon Kwak, Julia Kwon, Cathy Lu, Gabriela Muñoz, Pepón Osorio, Jenea Sanchez, and Maggie Thompson. |
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| | The Smithsonian American Art Museum is able to create and share experiences like these thanks to funding from generous supporters like you.
Thank you for ensuring that American art is available to all. |
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Image Credit: Installation photography of The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2024; Photos by Albert Ting
Fred Wilson, I Saw Othello's Visage in His Mind, 2013, Murano glass and wood., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2019.8, © 2013, Fred Wilson |
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