Portraiture often suggests dusty oil paintings in ornate frames—static likenesses frozen in time. Building on centuries of tradition, contemporary creators are reimagining portraiture in provocative ways through painting, sculpture, photography, and video. Some embrace familiar compositional devices such as sitters depicted in profile or three-quarter view. Others challenge conventions by using unexpected media, objects, and attributes to explore complex layers of identity.
Art historian Jennie Hirsh surveys portraiture in the late 20th and early 21st century, highlighting artists who have expanded its visual language to explore questions of memory, performance, and presence. From self-portraits to intimate depictions of others, their work invites viewers to consider how likeness is constructed and understood from visual and cultural perspectives.
Among the artists discussed are Dawoud Bey, Jordan Casteel, Tracey Emin, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Lucian Freud, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Lyle Ashton Harris, Isaac Julien, Alice Neel, Shirin Neshat, Catherine Opie, Amy Sherald, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Wendy Red Star, and Kara Walker—each challenging and redefining what it means to see and be seen.
General Information
