Marking the 125th anniversary of the publication of Twain’s classic novel, Huckleberry Finn is the final volume in CCA Wattis’ trilogy of exhibitions that take canonical American novels as departure points for examinations by artists of key themes in American culture. Huckleberry Finn is easily among the most important and best-loved works of American literature, but it still tops the banned book list in America, revealing that its tackling of intolerance, racism and struggles for equality remain all too relevant to our society. Here, Twain’s exploration of racial tension is extended in works by Edgar Arceneaux, Ruth-Marion Baruch, Romare Bearden, Claude Clark, Jamal Cyrus, Emory Douglas, Ellen Gallagher, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Rodney Graham, David Hammons, Dorothea Lange, Henry Lewis, Glenn Ligon, Thomas Nast, Kirsten Pieroth, Horace Pippin, Betye Saar, Yinka Shonibare, Alec Soth, William Desmond Taylor, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol and others.

Text by: Jens Hoffmann, Maurice Berger, Mirjana Blankenship, Elyse Mallouk