Body / Parts

Bodies fail us, frustrate us, allow us immense freedom, and can inspire desire and disgust in equal measure. Fittingly, the human body has long been an object of fascination for artists, traditionally functioning as a vehicle to express allegorical ideas about beauty, sexuality, and philosophy. 

But in the twentieth century, there was a significant shift in how the human form was used as a subject, and artists now refer to the body as a mutable entity, one whose surface expresses the self beneath. Whether highly representational or abstracted, these works blur the distinction between the observer and the observed, asking us to consider what roles we impose on ourselves and others. 

This exhibition of over twenty works, organized by Guest Curator Camille Roccanova (Collection Manager, Raymond Learsy Collection), includes works by Laylah Ali, Jenny Saville, Ana Mendieta, Tseng Kwong Chi, and Natalie Frank.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website