Thornton Dial, “Setting the Table ,†2003, 75 by 74½ by 8 inches. Shoes, gloves, bedding, wood beads, cloth, carpet, artificial plants, found metal, cooking utensils, wood, Splash Zone compound, oil and enamel on canvas mounted on wood. Collection of Barbara and James Sellman.

The most extensive exhibition ever mounted of Thornton Dial’s painting and sculpture will premiere at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), on view February 25 to May 15. “Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial” will highlight the artist’s significant contribution to the field of American art and show how Dial’s work speaks to the most pressing issues of the present time †including the war in Iraq, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and social issues like racism and homelessness.

The exhibition will present 70 of Dial’s large-scale paintings, drawings and found-object sculptures spanning 20 years of his artistic career, including 25 works on view for the first time.

Dial’s work draws inspiration from the rich expressive traditions of the black South. With no formal art education, Dial developed a truly distinctive and original style. Influenced by African American yard shows, Dial’s work incorporates salvaged objects †from plastic grave flowers and children’s toys to carpet scraps and animal skeletons †to create highly charged assemblages that tackle a wide range of social and political subjects.

His art touches on topics ranging from the dilemmas of labor and the abuse of the natural environment to meditations on significant recent political and cultural moments †with a particular focus on the struggles of historically marginalized groups such as women, the rural poor and the impoverished underclass. Born out of decades of the artist’s own struggle as a working-class black man, Dial’s work also explores the history of racial oppression in America, from slavery through the Civil Rights movement and into the postmodern era.

Thornton Dial, “Lost Farm (Billy Goat Hill),†2000, 84 by 72 by 13 inches. Desiccated goat, rat and turkey; steel, rope, carpet, rope carpet, peach basket, wood, tire scraps, plastic toys, shoes, motor oil bottle, wire fencing, chains, ironing board, farm and construction tools, wire, paintbrushes, enamel, spray paint and Splash Zone compound on canvas mounted on wood. Collection of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Museum purchase with funds provided by the Long Endowment for American Art, 2002.

The exhibition will include 70 paintings, drawings and sculptural works as it surveys two decades of the artist’s career. Highlights of the exhibition include the 1992 work “The Last Day of Martin Luther King,” which examines the life, death and transformative message of the assassinated political leader, and “Victory in Iraq” from 2004, a 10-foot canvas that incorporates barbed wire and iconic symbols of America’s role in world conflict.

Additionally, a Dial work recently acquired by the IMA will be on view in the exhibition †”Don’t Matter How Raggly the Flag, It Still Got To Tie Us Together,” which dates from 2003 and evokes the image of a torn and ravaged American flag that nevertheless serves to unite the nation. The earliest work included in the exhibition will be the 1991 drawing “Refugees in Love.” Among the show’s many recent works is the 2009 piece “Turtle Holding Flag,” which celebrates President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

The exhibition will subsequently travel to the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., the New Orleans Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is at 4000 Michigan Road. For information, 317-920-2659 or www.imamuseum.org .