“Star” Gazing at the National Portrait Gallery

In a world consumed by personal and celebrity image making, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery considers how personalities are constructed with “Eye Pop: The Celebrity Gaze.” The exhibition features 53 portraits and will be open at the Portrait Gallery May 22 through July 10, 2016.

Many of these works of art are masterful photographs, such as Todd Glaser’s panoramic image of surfer Kelly Slater or Annie Leibovitz’s classic depiction of Renée Fleming on stage. Paintings, prints and time-based media works are also represented. Painter Will Cotton represents Katy Perry as an airbrushed confection, while Colin Davidson offers an introspective portrait of Brad Pitt. Video artist Bo Gehring provides a personal view of Esperanza Spalding listening to music that inspires her own work. And Luke Dubois pulls from the Internet and his own software to give a generative, ever-changing double portrait of Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

“Celebrity evolved with modernity and with the use of visual media to replicate a likeness and create a reputation,” said Kim Sajet, director of the museum. “These origins now exist uneasily in a postmodern society in which fame is fleeting, public attention is fickle and the eye is always on the next big thing.”

The curators for this exhibition are Associate Director of Education and Visitor Experience Rebecca Kasemeyer, Chief Curator Brandon Fortune, Senior Historian David C. Ward, Curator Emerita of Prints and Drawings Wendy Wick Reaves, Senior Curator of Photographs Ann Shumard, Curator for Latino Art and History Taína Caragol, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture Dorothy Moss and Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings Asma Naeem.     

The Portraits in “Eye Pop”   

Marc Anthony by ADÁL, 1994

Marc Jacobs by Elizabeth Peyton, 2003

John Baldessari by Alphonse van Woerkom, 2009

Floyd Mayweather Jr. by Holger Keifel, 2005

Sergey Brin and Larry Page by Luke Dubois, 2013

Audra McDonald by Jesse Frohman, 1999

Kobe Bryant by Rick Chapman, 2007

Michelle Obama by Mickalene Thomas, 2008

Sandra Cisneros by Al Rendon, 1998

Cesar Pelli by Philip Grausman, 2014

Daniel Dae Kim by CYJO, 2007

Katy Perry by Will Cotton, 2010

Silver Deb by Deborah Kass, 2012

Michael Phelps by Rick Chapman, 2007

Yellow Deb by Deborah Kass, 2012

Brad Pitt by Colin Davidson, 2013

Blue Deb by Deborah Kass, 2012

Albert Pujols by Rick Chapman, 2006

Red Deb by Deborah Kass, 2012

Condolezza Rice by Mickalene Thomas, 2007–8

Peter Dinklage by Jesse Frohman, 2003

Maxine Singer by Jon R. Friedman, 2001–12

Eminem by Elizabeth Peyton, 2003

Kelly Slater by Todd Glaser, 2011

Louise Erdrich by Alec Soth, 2012

Dana Tai Soon Burgess by CYJO, 2007

Renée Fleming by Annie Leibovitz, 2008

Sonia Sotomayor by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, 2010

Michael J. Fox by Steve Pyke, 2008

Esperanza Spalding by Bo Gehring, 2014

Barney Frank by Jon R. Friedman, 2012

Britney Spears by Luke Dubois, 2010

Diane von Fürstenberg by Anh Duong, 2001

Barbra Streisand by Deborah Kass, 2013

Jeff Gordon by Rick Chapman, 2002

Anne Tyler by David Levine, 2004

Tony Hawk by Rick Chapman, 2002

Harold Varmus by Jon R. Friedman, 2010

Bernard Hopkins by Holger Keifel, 2003

Dwyane Wade by Rick Chapman, 2006

LeBron James by Rick Chapman, 2006

Alice Waters by Dave Woody, 2010

Jhumpa Lahiri by David Levine, 2003

Shaun White by Rick Chapman, 2006

Chang-rae Lee by CYJO, 2006

Robert Wilson by Chuck Close, 2012

Spike Lee by Jesse Frohman, 1999

Serena Williams by Rick Chapman, 2007

John Leguizamo by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, 2011

Venus Williams by Rick Chapman, 2006

Maya Lin by Karin Sander, 2014

Oprah Winfrey by Mickalene Thomas, 2007–8

Eva Longoria by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, 2010

 

National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of the United States through the individuals who have shaped American culture. Spanning the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the nation’s story.                    

The National Portrait Gallery is located at Eighth and G streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Connect with the museum at npg.si.edu and on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.  

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