Dorothy Moss Knihy

Focusing on the innovative approach to portraiture, this book showcases the work of contemporary Chinese American artist Hung Liu. It highlights her ability to transform overlooked subjects into powerful narratives through painting, photography, and drawing. The collection spans six decades and features contributions from various scholars and artists, exploring themes of identity, memory, and multiculturalism. Liu's experiences with war and displacement inform her art, which resonates with those pursuing a better life, making significant contributions to contemporary art discourse.

Unveiling the unconventional : Kehinde Wiley's portrait of Barack Obama / Taína Caragol -- "Radical empathy" : Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama / Dorothy Moss -- The Obama portraits, in art history and beyond / Richard J. Powell -- The Obama portraits and the National Portrait Gallery as a site of secular pilgrimage / Kim Sajet -- The presentation of the Obama portraits : a transcript of the unveiling ceremony.

Focusing on the interplay of gender, space, and time, the book presents a groundbreaking analysis of women's experiences. It positions women as active agents who navigate and shape their environments, creating personal pathways and integrating various life demands into their daily rhythms. Through empirical study, Moss highlights how women construct their own spaces and manage the complexities of their lives, drawing on theoretical frameworks from Henri Lefebvre and Barbara Adam to enrich the discussion.

Work by eight of today’s leading contemporary artists exploring the complex nature of familial relationships and other interpersonal bonds.  Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have forced many of us, including artists, to view ideas of closeness in a new light. Kinship , published on the occasion of the National Portrait Gallery’s tenth “Portraiture Now” exhibition, features the work of eight leading contemporary artists who explore familial relationships through photography, painting, sculpture, and performance. Contemporary portraiture offers a way to consider the mutable yet enduring qualities of kinship and the internal and external forces that affect our bonds with others. For example, interpretations of distance—whether emotional, physical, or geographical—have recently become more fraught. By recognizing the transformations that occur in the genre of portraiture and the threads that today’s portraits share, we can better understand the universality and specificity of kinship.