I’ve Gone to Look for America interrogates the paradox at the heart of American identity. The artists in this group exhibition are each intimately familiar with the illusory nature of American(ism). In one way or another they have searched for the essence of this country and found instead obstacles standing in the way of their belonging— whether it is the looming specter of patriotism, the indoctrination that is intertwined with “becoming American,” or the threat of violence that exists beneath the surface of life in the US. The artwork is as vast and varied as the idea of America itself, yet there runs through a common thread of reconciliation, a coming to terms with failed promises that potentially gives way to something more beautiful in its reality, attainability, and resilience.