The Figure, Indicative and Illusive

The Figure: The Indicative and the Allusive, an exhibition of twenty-two contemporary American artists, offers new perspectives on the enduring power of the human figure in a transient world. 

Asking "what does it mean to be human?" this exhibition explores vast methods of expression through realism, abstraction, and symbolism. It examines the internal experience of living in one's own skin, the layers of genetic inheritance, perfect or flawed; and, the external, cultural experiences that inform artistic expressions of the body. It delves into body image, identity, and self-expression. It investigates what conventions throughout art history inform the expression of the figure. It seeks to peel the layers of self-absorption, aging, gravity, or body narratives. The spectrum of physical materials used by different artists represents the human body as physical and sexual, how the body moves and creates, and what the body carries or leaves behind. In doing so, this exhibition seeks to continue, expand, and deepen the enduring power of the figure.

Exhibiting artists are Tara Booth, Gina Bosworth, Katee Boyle, Moe Brooker, Ellen Durkan, Douglas Giebel, Bruce Herman, Tendai Johnson, Alex Kanevsky, Ken Mabrey, Michael Jones McKean, David Page, Lydia Panas, Lynda Schmid, Noel Sylvester, Stephen Tanis, Brad Vanneman, Vicki Vinton, Christina A. West, Peter Williams, Simone Welsh, and Carson Zullinger.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website 

Bruce Herman, persistence of vision.  Oil and gold leaf on wood, 48" x 36"