Pop Warriors: Lizabeth Eva Rossofs Imagined Excavation

August 7, 2021 - March 19, 2022  

Friends and Colorado Galleries 

Playing with the concepts of appropriation and cultural exchange, Denver-based artist Lizabeth Eva Rossof creates figures modeled on the iconic 2,000-year-old terracotta warriors excavated in Xi’an, China, but replaces their heads with those of American pop culture characters like Mickey Mouse and Spiderman. Rossof’s pop warriors have undergone several iterations since she initially dreamed them up. Her first creations were made in collaboration with artisans in Xi’an, utilizing the same clay as the warriors made for tourist consumption. In the years since, the pop warriors have been transformed into large-scale blow-up sculptures. The UW Art Museum is honored to share the five warriors at their largest scale yet: up to twelve and a half feet tall. Visit the museum to experience childlike wonder as you walk amongst Rossof’s fantastical imagined excavation.

Funded through the generosity of the UW Board of Trustees’ Strategic Projects Funds and the Susan Moldenhauer FUNd for Contemporary Art

Related Programs:

• Family Saturday Workshop, October 2, 2021, 10 a.m. – noon, free, all ages
• Artist Residency at UW Art Museum, October 20-22, 2021.
• Happy Hour Hangout at Bond's Brewing, October 20, 2021, 5-7 p.m., 21+
• Student Members Lunch with Visiting Artist, October 20, 2021, 12 p.m.
• Art of the Idea Workshop , October, 22, 2021, 1-3:30 p.m.,  Register here
• In Conversation with Liz Rossof, (Artist Talk and Performance by Dr. Nicole Riner) October 21, 2021, 6-7:45 p.m. Register here

Image: Lizabeth Eva Rossof (American, b. 1973), 5 XI’AN American Warriors Series, 2019, nylon, elastic, and fan, image courtesy of Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA