Reframing Identity: From the UW Art Museum Collection

June 26 – December 23, 2021 

Chicago and East Galleries 

Who am I? Who are we? A deep exploration of the self has been embedded in humanity for ages, sparking philosophical debate and endless writings on the subject. Artists are among those grappling with the issue of identity – who we are as individuals and collectives – through visual expression. In Reframing Identity, the UW Art Museum showcases works in the collection that allow for consideration of identity formation from a broad range of perspectives, beginning with the portrait and expanding out towards ideas of sexual, cultural, and regional identities, among others. The visual texts presented inspire reflection and consideration of how the concept of “self” is an amalgamation of internal and external forces that can be expressed in a multitude of ways. Viewers are encouraged to explore the specificities and generalities in the artworks, and to imagine new possibilities for self-articulation.

Funded through the generosity of the UW Board of Trustees’ Strategic Projects Funds and Genesis Alkali

 

Related Programs:

• Art Education Round Table Convening (invite only), August 3 – 5, all day
• Read, Rant, Relate: Las Paharitas, October 7, 6 – 9 p.m., free
• Family Saturday Workshop, November 6, 2021, 10 a.m. – noon, free, all ages
• Panel Discussion (info forthcoming), November 18, 2021, free

 

Images:

Francis Bacon (Irish-British, 1909-1992), Study for Self Portrait 1982, 1984, offset lithograph on paper, Collections Fund at the UW Art Museum, 2014.2

Martin Stupich (American, b.1949), 19th Century inscriptions on Independence Rock marking emigrants  passing from the Great Plains west into Red Desert, Sweetwater County, Wyoming 2006, 2006, Ultrachrome K3 ink on premium paper, W. Sherman & Dorothy Burns Estate Fund and the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum, 2008.8.31

Hung Liu (Chinese-American, b.1948), Cotton Hoer, 1936, 2016, oil on canvas, Art Museum Acquisition Fund, 2017.8