Black Artists: Art Basel Miami Beach 2011

Thomas is a visual artist and photographer whose work often merges race, history and popular culture. And One looks at labor within the basketball world. Thomas was most recently a fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University (headed by The Root's editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr.), where he completed a project on "The Myth of a Black History."

Shonibare is a British-born artist of Nigerian descent who lives and works in London. He was short-listed for the Turner Prize in 2004 for his "Double Dutch" exhibition. Shonibare's work often explores race, class and the tangled relationship between African and European cultures.

Wiley, an honoree of The Root 100, is a New York-based artist. He is an alumnus of Rush Arts Gallery. Terence Nance made its premiere at Art Basel Miami Beach and sold on the first day of the fair. It reflects Wiley's characteristic depiction of modern African-American men set in Baroque-styled portraits, always in vivid colors.

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Thomas is known for her decorative paintings made of rhinestones, acrylic and enamel.

Thomas is known for re-examining the definition of beauty and what it means to be a black woman.

Thomas' work can be found in the Museum of Modern Art and the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian.

Yiadom-Boakye is an artist of Ghanaian descent based in London. She creates characters, such as the one in Watcher, with vivid back stories, but she lets the viewer's imagination fill in the details of the subject's life. Yiadom-Boakye's first solo museum exhibition was at the Studio Museum in Harlem, N.Y.

Hammons, who works in New York, received a MacArthur Foundation "genius" award and a Prix de Rome. Much of his art is made from the refuse of African-American life. For his Untitled body print, Hammons applied baby oil to his skin, pressed it to paper and sprinkled that paper with pigment, leaving the print behind.

Anatsui is a Ghanaian-born artist living in Nigeria. He often includes found objects in his work. It took the artist six months to complete They Finally Broke the Pot of Wisdom. His work can be found in the permanent collections of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.

Hendricks lives and works in New London, Conn. While his work includes photography and landscape painting, he is known for his life-size oil portraits depicting African Americans in a stately and proud manner.

Marshall lives and works in Chicago but grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where he was influenced by the black power and civil rights movements. His comic book-styled paintings, including Black Star, cast African Americans as superheroes. Marshall received a MacArthur "genius" award in 1997.

Odutola was born in Nigeria and grew up in Alabama. She is currently completing her MFA at the California College of the Arts. For I Wish You Would, Odutola used an inexpensive Bic ballpoint pen, a technique she frequently employs in her work to explore perceptions of skin and race.

Jamaican-born Ward lives and works in New York. His art examines issues surrounding race, poverty and consumer culture. For I'll Bust You Again, Ward used found items to create a collage effect. He is known for his sculptural installations composed of everyday objects collected from his neighborhood.

Davis, who lives in Los Angeles, sources imagery from found photographs, historical events and literature. His work often alludes to racial, social and political issues.

Davis paints in a classical manner, using traditional compositions, but his emotional narratives give his paintings a modern reality.