Writer James Baldwin highlighted the power of people’s interior lives, specifically those of artists, to move our world forward. While our emotional, spiritual, and psychological existences often remain hidden, visual artists bravely bring theirs to light through color, form, texture, material, and composition.

Though we do not wholly believe it yet, the interior life is a real life, and the intangible dreams of people have a tangible effect on the world.

—James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name, 1961

The Interior Life: Recent Acquisitions displays a selection of artworks that have been added to the National Gallery’s collection of modern and contemporary art over the last three years. Works by María Berrío, Melvin Edwards, Sonia Gomes, Rashid Johnson, Freddy Rodríguez, and many others reshape our collection and understanding of the capacity of art to bring about change. Through allusions to the body, community, and everyday spaces, as well as in more abstract works, these twenty-five artists creatively draw upon their interior lives to offer rich perspectives on life’s challenges and possibilities.