An essential appraisal of Ellen Gallagher, one of the most important American artists working today.Born in 1965 in Providence, Rhode Island, Ellen Gallagher's paintings, collages, drawings, sculpture, animation and film installations, which shift between abstraction and figuration, create dynamic encounters between the historic and the present through commentary about race, racism, and cultural identity. Her works explore the language of Modernist painting with symbolic or narrative content, often touching on issues of representation. Created in close dialogue with the artist, this book catalogues a unique opportunity to present a selective yet coherent overview of Gallagher's practice, bringing together significant works from the early 1990s to the present day and examining some of the key themes and issues that emerge, overlap, repeat and interweave throughout her art.