Carrie Mae Weems: The Heart of the Matter
Aperture and Allemandi Editore are proud to announce the publication of Carrie Mae Weems: The Heart of the Matter, a landmark monograph offering an unparalleled look into the mind and vision of one of the most influential artists of our time.
Renowned for her groundbreaking investigations into history, identity, and power, Carrie Mae Weems has long been a touchstone for understanding the intersection of art and social justice. This richly illustrated volume traces the full arc of her practice—transcending medium, chronology, and geography—placing Weems’s artistic, spiritual, and philosophical journeys at the center of the conversation.
From the seminal Family Pictures and Stories (1981–82) to her most recent series examining the Black church, The Heart of the Matter presents generous selections of Weems’s most important bodies of work. Newly commissioned essays and contributions from leading scholars and cultural thinkers offer fresh perspectives on Weems’s enduring relevance and her capacity to confront the complexities and inequities of contemporary life.
About the Author
Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953, Portland) is one of the most influential American artists of her generation, celebrated for work that examines history, identity, and power while amplifying voices often left unheard. Over a career spanning four decades, she has developed a groundbreaking body of work across photography, video, installation, performance, and public art.
Weems is best known for projects such as the Kitchen Table Series (1990), which uses staged photographs to explore intimacy, gender, and family, and From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried (1995–96), which reclaims archival images of Black subjects to confront the role of photography in perpetuating racism. Her practice often intersects with activism, as seen in collaborative works like Grace Notes: Reflections for Now (2016) and The Baptism (2020), a film honoring civil rights leaders John Lewis and C.T. Vivian.
Recent solo exhibitions include Reflections for Now at the Barbican Art Gallery in London, The Evidence of Things Not Seen at Kunstmuseum Basel, and A Great Turn in the Possible in Barcelona. Her work has been shown at leading museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and is held in major collections such as MoMA, Tate Modern, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
Weems has received numerous honors, including the Hasselblad Award, the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the U.S. State Department’s Medal of Arts. She is currently Artist in Residence at Syracuse University.
