State of the Art 2020: Record

On view at LSU Museum of Art: March 10–June 19, 2022

Recordings preserve information. This can include an idea, a sound, a moment in time—the important outcome remains the same: the record. The artworks in this exhibition, titled State of the Art 2020: Record, reveal a broad expanse of this concept. Some of these artists grapple with the constantly unfolding historical record. Others use their work as a way to record concepts too big for words or too abstract for simple explanation. Others employ their artistic skills to order their surroundings, transforming chaos into something manageable. Record speaks to the task of documenting the random, confusing, and sometimes inexplicable, and underscores a desire to return to the existing record in order to reconsider.

These 20 artists represent a sample of American art created in recent years. The approaches, backgrounds, and details of these artists’ practices vary widely but the echoes across works and sections of the show speak to broader trends in contemporary art in this country. Organized around the theme of “record,” this focused exhibition invites visitors to consider how these artists put this theme into action. Artists included in this exhibition are David Harper, Damian Stamer, Carla Edwards, Jenelle Esparza, Marcel Pardo Ariza, Kate Budd, Mari Hernandez, Tabitha Nikolai, Enrico Riley, Jordan Seaberry, Diego Rodriguez-Warner, Frances Bagley, Peter Everett, Mae Aur, Alex Chitty, Paul Stephen Benjamin, Jill Downen, Kellie Romany, Nicolas Lobo, and Cory Imig.

State of the Art 2020: Record is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. The national tour of State of the Art 2020 is sponsored by Bank of America with additional support from Art Bridges. This exhibition and its programming are sponsored locally by a generous grant from Art Bridges.