Gross Anatomies

The bodies depicted in Gross Anatomies dissipate, morph and decompose. They may have piecemeal forms, assembled from disparate parts. They openly engage in bodily functions like defecating, giving birth or dying, universal acts essential to human existence that usually take place in private. The creatures’ grotesque bodies may make us laugh or recoil in disgust. They can confuse us, appearing as two opposite-seeming things at the same time, such as cute and creepy or ugly yet beautiful.

The sculptures, drawings, prints and paintings on display in this exhibition feature grotesque representations of the human form. Drawn entirely from an Akron-based private collection, the artworks in Gross Anatomies transgress social norms, amuse, titillate and befuddle us, and in some cases, gross us out.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.