Roadside Abstractions: Route 66 & American Modernism
Philbrook Art & Gardens
On view through January 3, 2027
I’ve been to almost every town mentioned in Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66,” yet I’ve still heard more hubbub about the Route this year in Tulsa than in the rest of my life combined. As the official centennial date approaches in November, the city’s tourism has been whipped into a frenzy, leaning hard into the neon, the classic cars, and the nostalgia of it all.
But that slice of Americana is really more like a sliver of the truth of the impact of Route 66. On view at Philbrook through the rest of the year, Roadside Abstractions: Route 66 & American Modernism zooms out from the roadside diner vibe to examine the way a century of art trends converged and embraced the interconnectedness of politics, economy, and culture.
This exhibit puts the cars out front too, literally, but it pushes against the urge to glaze the past. The first room of Roadside Abstractions instructs viewers to “experience American art the way you’d experience the open road: with a sense of adventure.” The Ford Model T parked inside is paired with a smattering of paintings completed in the 1930s and ‘40s, some of which stand in open critique.