Sculptor Richard Serra, "street artists" Margaret Kilgallen and Barry McGee, photographer Sally Mann and installation artist Pepon Osorio. Serra, seen installing one of his massive steel-plate structures in the atrium of an office building, needs a big place for his works. McGee and Kilgallen make gallery art but prefer grafitti. Mann, known for nude photos of her children, is now doing landscapes. And, says Osorio: "I need to create a space. That is overpowering."

Place

Ann Hamilton, who works with textiles; impish multimedia artist John Feodorov; miniaturist Shahzia Sikander; and James Turrell, whose medium is light itself. Linking them: spirituality, "a thread that connects us all," says host S. Epatha Merkerson. "I think ambiguity is where the spiritual lies," says Feodorov, who combines Navajo and Christian themes provocatively. Turrell explains how he designs his projects "to bring the cosmos closer."

Spirituality

Bruce Nauman, Maya Lin, Louise Bourgeois and Kerry James Marshall, "four contemporary artists who deal in notions of identity," says Steve Martin, who introduces the hour. Marshall uses black themes in his paintings and installations; 90-year-old Bourgeois, a sculptor, frequently fashions hands; Lin, known for the Vietnam War Memorial, is seen at work in Grand Rapids, Mich. And Nauman makes psychologically infused videos and installations, including an outdoor stairway.

Identity

Mel Chin, Matthew Barney, Michael Ray Charles and Andrea Zittel, artists "who raise questions about the things we consume every day," says tennis great John McEnroe, who introduces the hour. Marshall explores racial stereotypes; filmmaker Barney approaches themes of sex and conflict elliptically; Zittel lives in---or wears---her utilitarian "installations"; and Chin's art has found its way into everything from a burned-out Detroit house to TV's "Melrose Place."

Consumption

Stories (in one form or another) is the theme linking the four artists profiled in Part 1 of four: Kara Walker, Kiki Smith, Do-Ho Suh and Trenton Doyle Hancock. Walker explores her African-American heritage in silhouettes that are at once genteel and macabre. Smith, a sculptor, often deals with death. “We were like the Addams family,” she says of her childhood. So-Ho Suh, a native of Korea, is concerned with space, individual and collective. One project is a “house” he made of transportable fabric. “I want to carry my home with me all the time---just like a snail,” he says. And painter Trenton Doyle Hancock looks to combine “comic-book narratives with the history of abstraction” in his mythical creatures. Filmmaker John Waters introduces the film.

Stories

Part 2 (of four) connects photographer Collier Schorr, and multimedia artists Gabriel Orozco and Janine Antoni with the theme of loss and desire. Schorr describes her pictures of high-school wrestlers and the teenage boys in a German family (who pose dressed as soldiers). The objects Orozco has worked with include ping-pong tables and a Citroen, while Antoni works with such things as soap, chocolate and her own body. Jane Alexander introduces the film.

Loss and Desire

Part 3 (of four): Time is the theme grouping the four artists profiled here. Among them: Martin Puryear, who's known for his large installations; Paul Pfeiffer, whose installations and video projects play off pop culture and sports; Vija Celmins, who specializes in natural forms; and Tim Hawkinson, whose installations have been as big as a football field. Choreographer Merce Cunningham hosts.

Time

Conclusion. Humor is the theme grouping the four artists profiled here. Among them: Eleanor Antin, who finds room for a wink or two in her social commentary; Raymond Pettibon, whose comic-book art is for adults only; Elizabeth Murray, whose paintings are vibrant and zany; and Walton Ford, whose watercolors unite the natural and political worlds. Comedian Margaret Cho hosts.

Humor

Power and its victims is the theme of this episode, which profiles artists Cai Guo-Qiang, Laylah Ali, Krzysztof Wodiczko and Ida Applebroog. Guo-Qiang, whose materials include gunpowder, talks of  “the aesthetic of pain”; Ali, whose round-headed figures appear cartoonish (but are quite serious) is seen working with choreographer Dean Moss; Wodiczko's video projections honor victims of violence; and Applebroog explores “how power works” in paintings, drawings and sculptures.

Power

Memory is the theme as artists Susan Rothenberg, Mike Kelley, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Josiah McElheny are profiled. McElheny, a glassblower, often puts his own spin on works of the past. Kelley looks for “materialist ritual” in his video art, paintings and sculptures. Sugimoto calls his photographs “fossilizations of the time.” And Rothenberg, a Southwestern painter, says “I don't want to get too literal. I want the viewer to do the work, too.” Isabella Rossellini is the host.

Memory

“Structure” is the theme as artists Matthew Ritchie, Fred Wilson, Richard Tuttle and Roni Horn are profiled. “Modern art is a gift,” says Ritchie, whose room-sized installations are rooted in line drawing. Wilson's installations are formed by “putting things together,” not making them. Tuttle, a veteran painter-sculptor, likes to explore “the part which I can't see,” as does Horn, a sculptor-photographer. “The unknown,” she says, “is where I want to be.” Introduced by Sam Waterston.

Structure

“Play” is the theme as artists Jessica Stockholder, Ellen Gallagher, Arturo Herrera and Oliver Herring are profiled. Stockholder's sharp-colored works frequently incorporate plastic objects, and Gallagher's paintings and films offer “a way of constantly looking for home.” Herrera makes collages and wall paintings from drawings and abstract photos. And Herring's work ranges from somber knitted sculptures to fanciful video works and photographic “statues” of people. The NBA's Grant Hill hosts.

Play

The fourth season begins with romance as the theme grouping the artists profiled here, including photographer Laurie Simmons, media artist Pierre Huyghe, and painters Judy Pfaff and Lari Pittman.

Romance

“Protest” is the theme. Profiled: painter Nancy Spero, photographer An-My Le, media artist Alfredo Jaar and conceptual artist Jenny Holzer.

Protest

Ecology is the theme. Profiled: photographer Robert Adams, and sculptors Mark Dion, Ursula von Rydingsvard and Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle.

Ecology

Paradox is the theme. Profiled: painter Robert Ryman, filmmakers Mark Bradford and Catherine Sullivan, and media artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla.

Paradox

The Season 5 premiere highlights artists who seek to reconcile past with present, expose injustice and celebrate tolerance in their works, including South African native William Kentridge, who creates poetic allegories on stage and film. Also: visual artist Carrie Mae Weems, who reflected on how the 1960s influenced the 2008 presidential election in a photo-video series, and Doris Salcedo of Colombia, who honors her country's marginalized peoples through sculptures and installations.

Compassion

Artists who mine the world of fantasy are featured, including Jeff Koons, who explores notions of taste and pleasure; abstract artist Mary Heilmann; German-born landscape photographer Florian Maier-Aichen, who spices photographs with computer-enhanced imagery; and Chinese artist Cao Fei, who explores perception.

Fantasy

Artists who observe and satirize society are featured, including Yinka Shonibare, who's shown creating a piece about the 2008 economic meltdown; Cindy Sherman, who creates photographic series and films in which she portrays various characters; and Paul McCarthy, who pokes fun at cultural icons ranging from Disney characters to Queen Elizabeth II.

Transformation

Artists who tackle projects that are complex and/or vast in scope are featured, including Ethiopian-American painter Julie Mehretu, who's shown creating a large work about the history of market-based capitalism; John Baldessari, who mixes photomontage, painting and language in his pieces; Korean-born Kimsooja, whose art combines techniques of video, performance and installation; and Allan McCollum, who creates large quantities of almost identical objects.

Systems

The Season 6 premiere focuses on Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, Ghanian sculptor El Anatsui and American photographer Catherine Opie, whose works often share thematic similarities, including a focus on transformation.

Change

Examining the works of sculptor David Altmejd, Japanese animation artist Tabaimo and avante-garde sculptor Lynda Benglis, which explore the shape-shifting potential of the human figure through taboo subjects and the innovative use of media.

Boundaries

Glenn Ligon, Mary Reid Kelley and Marina Abramovic, whose works examine historic events and often challenge assumptions about them, are profiled.

History

The Season 6 finale focuses on oil painter Rackstraw Downes, minimalist painter Robert Mangold and sculptor Sarah Sze. Their works explore the space that lies between art and existence, the seeing and the knowing.

Balance

The Season 7 premiere features Thomas Hirschhorn, who creates an installation with help from public-housing residents; photographer Graciela Iturbide, who focuses on Mexico; and Leonardo Drew, who continually experiments with materials and processes.

Investigation

Elliott Hundley, Arlene Shechet and Trevor Paglen are featured. Hundley creates collages that both reveal and hide their meanings; Shechet's ceramic work obscures its nature behind surface effects; and Paglen documents the American surveillance state.

Secrets

A look at artists inspired by life experiences and family heritage. Included: Wolfgang Laib, who connects the ephemeral and eternal; Tania Bruguera, who explores art, activism and social change; and Abraham Cruzvillegas, who focuses on transformation and decay.

Legacy

What makes a compelling story? How do artists disrupt everyday reality in the service of revealing subtler truths? This episode features artists who explore the virtues of ambiguity, mix genres, and merge aesthetic disciplines to discern not simply what stories mean, but how and why they come to have meaning.

Fiction

The Season 8 premiere spotlights artists in Chicago, including Nick Cave, who creates "Soundsuits"; installation artist Theaster Gates; photography-based, multi-medium artist Barbara Kasten; and Chris Ware, who's known for his New Yorker magazine covers.

Chicago

Mexico City artists exit their homes and studios to use the growing megalopolis as their canvas. The artists present everyday materials as artworks, mine recognizable images for their poetic potential, and take their art to the streets.

Mexico City

While sprawling Los Angeles has world-class museums and art schools, artists working in the shadow of the entertainment industry are more "under the radar," affording them the space and time to imagine.

Los Angeles

By recreating historical moments, staging photos of vernacular scenes, and crafting intricate sculptures that trick the eye, artists in Vancouver reveal how everyday images and moments from the past are not always what they seem.

Vancouver

Since the dramatic fall of apartheid in 1994, Johannesburg has emerged as the artistic capital of sub-Saharan Africa. Collectively, the artists in this hour use their work to empower marginalized communities, reexamine history, and pursue their visions for South Africa’s future. This episode features David Goldblatt, Nicholas Hlobo, Zanele Muholi, and Robin Rhode.

Johannesburg

Berlin has become a haven for artists from all over the world—a free zone where experimentation, individual expression, and international influences converge. The artists in this hour demonstrate the diversity of practice and sensibilities in the German capital. This episode features Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Olafur Eliasson, Hiwa K, and Susan Philipsz.

Berlin

See why the San Francisco Bay Area is a magnet for artists who are drawn to its experimental atmosphere, countercultural spirit and history of innovation, and who are united by their steadfastness and persistence in creating. This episode features Creative Growth Art Center, Katy Grannan, Lynn Hershman Leeson, and Stephanie Syjuco.

San Francisco Bay Area

See how British history and modern upheaval collide in the works of today's London artists. Their art rethinks the past, subverts tradition, and is as layered, diverse and dynamic as the centuries-old city in which these artists live. Featuring artists John Akomfrah, Phyllida Barlow, Anish Kapoor, and Christian Marclay.

London

Witness the maturing of this unique contemporary-art hub and meet the artists who call it home. Beijing's recent economic boom makes it fertile ground for art, and artists have responded to its relentless evolution with urgency and ambition. Featuring artists Guan Xiao, Liu Xiaodong, Song Dong, Xu Bing, and Yin Xiuzhen.

Beijing

Learn how contemporary art can challenge preconceived notions of the U.S.-Mexico border. Today's artists see the border as an open wound, theatrical stage, political podium, studio and contradictory landscape that features both ugliness and beauty. Featuring artists Tanya Aguiñiga, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Richard Misrach, and Postcommodity.

Borderlands

Four contemporary artists breathe new life into some of humanity's oldest artforms, icons and monuments, creating paintings, sculptures, and films out of everyday objects and popular culture. Featuring Michelle Obama portrait painter Amy Sherald.

Everyday Icons

Finding inspiration outside the studio, a group of acclaimed contemporary artists use history, science, and politics as the raw material to create potent sculptures, paintings, drawings, and public works.

Bodies of Knowledge

Four contemporary artists look inside and outside their immediate circles to find emotional connections and build community. This film showcases playful and poignant sculptures, performances, and more. Includes celebrated filmmaker Miranda July.

Friends and Strangers

Contemporary artists describe their work and discuss why and how they do it. The programs are grouped according to themes of place, spirituality, identity and consumption.

A PBS series, educational resource, archive, and history of contemporary art, Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century premiered in 2001 and is now broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide. Premiering a new season every two years, Art21 is the only series on United States television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists.

All Episodes of art21

Browse all episodes of art21

Season 1

Place

Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/21/2001

Spirituality

Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/21/2001

Identity

Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/28/2001

Consumption

Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 9/28/2001