Experience & Expression

To create the art of our time, artists often draw on their own experiences of the world—from the personal to the political, from the aesthetic to the commercial, from the individual to the collective, from the spiritual to the material.

While the Detroit Institute of Arts presents Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, 1950–2020 in the contemporary art galleries, please enjoy this small selection of works acquired over the past decade as generous gifts or by purchase. This installation has been divided into three sections, which explore the use of abstraction and figuration; the experimentation with traditional and novel materials; and the definition of self and others. All of these works invite you to look closely, to ask questions, and to connect with your experiences.

Housing the art of many cultures, the DIA seeks to collect and present works by artists of diverse backgrounds and cultures, sharing the individuality and universality of experiences, ideas, and concerns around the world and at home.