THE SLEEP OF REASON; THE FRAGMENTED FIGURE

Sculpture, Installation

Group Exhibition curated by Volker Eisele

Completed

2023

Every period has its own special image of man and the figure. The Venus of Milo and the David of Michelangelo were aesthetic ideals of the classic Greek or Renaissance period respectively. Then at the outset of Modernism, the advent of Cubism radically changed the image of the figure. “Picasso re-invented anatomy” wrote Peter Selz, an influential, mid-century curator at the MOMA.

The question can be fairly asked, is the fragmentation and de-construction of the human figure, and its subsequent re-construction the predominant symbol of twenty-first century man? And if so, why was it adopted as a near ubiquitous icon of the modern human condition?

This exhibition aims to explore the directions and trajectory of figurative art as practiced by artists in our city and state. How do these works compare and connect to the figurative concepts that percolate throughout the contemporary art world?

Featured Artists: Frances Bagley, Rabea Ballin, Jimmy Canales, Elizabeth Chapin, Colette Copeland, Jeff Gibbons, Suguru Hiraide, Allison Hunter, Jessica Kreutter, Yuliya Lanina, Nadin Nassar, Steve Parker, Kris Pierce, Hugo Santana, Sarah Sudhoff, James Sullivan, Jesse Lott.