Books by Glenn Ligon

30 Americans: Rubell Family Collection, Fourth Edition

by Michele Wallace, Robert Hobbs, Franklin Sirmans, Glenn Ligon

Showcasing an influential group of African American artists who have emerged as leading contributors to the contemporary art scene in the US and beyond
Nationally celebrated as one of the most important exhibitions of contemporary art in the United States within the last decade, 30 Americans showcases an influential group of prominent African American artists who have emerged as leading contributors to the contemporary art scene in the US and beyond. The exhibition and accompanying catalog explores the evolving roles of black subjects in art since the 1970s and highlights some of the most pressing social and political issues facing our country today, including ongoing narratives of racial inequality; the construction of racial, gender and sexual identity; and the pernicious underpinnings and effects of stereotyping.

Many of the artists in this exhibition interrogate how African Americans are represented, politicized and contested in the arts, media and popular culture. Several are driven by the exclusion of black subjects in art throughout much of history and celebrate and glorify black subjects through pictorial traditions including genre painting and portraiture.

In addition to essays by Robert Hobbs, Glenn Ligon, Franklin Sirmans and Michele Wallace, this expanded fourth edition contains new artworks and 22 commissioned writings by artists in the exhibition about artworks in the catalog, including pieces by Nina Chanel Abney, John Bankston, Mark Bradford, Nick Cave, Robert Colescott, Noah Davis, Leonardo Drew, Renée Green,Barkley L. Hendricks, Rashid Johnson, Kerry James Marshall, Rodney McMillian, Wangechi Mutu, William Pope.L, Rozeal Shinique Smith, Jeff Sonhouse, Henry Taylor, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker and Kehinde Wiley.

Glenn Ligon: Housing in New York: A Brief History (Greater New York)

by Glenn Ligon, Jocelyn Miller

MoMA PS1 presents the fourth iteration of Greater New York. Recurring every five years, the exhibition has traditionally showcased the work of emerging artists living and working in the New York metropolitan area. Considering the “greater” aspect of its title in terms of both geography and time, Greater New York. begins roughly with the moment when MoMA PS1 was founded in 1976 as an alternative venue that took advantage of disused real estate, reaching back to artists who engaged the margins of the city.
In conjunction with the exhibition, MoMA PS1 is publishing a series of readers that will be released throughout the run of the exhibition. These short volumes revisit older histories of New York while also inviting speculation about its future, highlighting certain works in the exhibition and engaging a range of subjects including disco, performance anxiety, real estate and newly unearthed historical documents. The series features contributions from Fia Backström, Mark Beasley, Gregg Bordowitz, Susan Cianciolo, Douglas Crimp, Catherine Damman, David Grubbs, Angie Keefer, Aidan Koch, Glenn Ligon, Gordon Matta-Clark, Claudia Rankine, Collier Schorr, and Sukhdev Sandhu, concluding with a round-table conversation with exhibition curators Peter Eleey, Douglas Crimp, Thomas J. Lax and Mia Locks. The series is edited by Jocelyn Miller, Curatorial Associate, MoMA PS1.

Vija Celmins

by Ilya Kaminsky, Andrew Winer, Marlene Dumas, Glenn Ligon, Katie Farris, Robert Gober

More than 90 of Celmins' astonishing hyperrealistic paintings are contextualized with writings by the artist herself and by luminaries including Teju Cole, Rachel Cusk and Marlene Dumas

Latvian American artist Vija Celmins (born 1938) is a master of subtle visual power. She is best known for her captivating paintings and drawings depicting galaxies, surfaces of the moon, desert floors, oceans and spider webs. Her works are not monumental; they are painted with a restrained palette and defy quick viewing. But once you are involved with them, your gaze gets caught up in them and they unfold their fascination and great beauty. This monograph presents all her approximately 90 exhibited artworks as well as a selection of documentary photographs. Several commentaries by the artist on her works are included, most of them published for the first time. Contributions by renowned authors and artists such as Julian Bell, Teju Cole, Rachel Cusk, Marlene Dumas and Robert Gober provide new perspectives on the artist's impressive oeuvre.