The Shape of Power

A major new survey of American sculpture, exploring how it both reflects and redefines concepts of race and identity in the United States

When viewing a sculpture, how quickly do we tend to assign race to the subject? The three-dimensional qualities of sculpture give it a distinct advantage over other art forms in capturing a subject’s likeness, and our minds can swiftly conjure a body and racialize it from the most minimal of prompts. The Shape of Power examines American sculpture from the mid-nineteenth century to today, showing how this medium gives physical form to racist ideas and has shaped how generations have learned to visualize and think about race.

Exploring the relationship between sculpture and ideas about race in the United States, this book provides fresh perspectives on artists ranging from Hiram Powers, Edmonia Lewis, and Augusta Savage to Barbara Chase-Riboud, Titus Kaphar, Raven Halfmoon, Sanford Biggers, Betye Saar, Yolanda López, and Simone Leigh. It reveals how sculptors use this versatile medium to challenge discriminatory ideologies and entrenched social and cultural constructions of race while offering bold new visions of community, identity, and selfhood.

Featuring superb illustrations of sculptural works in a broad range of media, The Shape of Power exposes the racist undertones inherent in American sculpture and reflects on the enduring power of sculpture in the making and unmaking of race in the United States.

Published in association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC

Exhibition Schedule
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
November 8, 2024–September 14, 2025