Present-Not Present
February 1 - May 14, 2023
Peeler Art Center, University Gallery (lower level)
Upon entering a museum or a gallery, look around and take notice of the people that are next to you. Who do you NOT see? In a world caught up in self-aggrandizement from selfies to influencers, it can be easy to overlook groups in our society who are peripheral from the incarcerated, recently incarcerated, those without homes or countries. Present-Not Present directs attention to who is not in the confined and often perceived elite spaces of the museum. The artists in this exhibition actively engage with those on the periphery and provide them with a platform to be heard, seen, and acknowledged. Though the method of collaboration may take many forms, the work in the exhibition documents the exchanges between artist and collaborator thus creating a story that evolves and deepens over time.
Artists include Jim Duignan, Brandon Hill, Marc Fischer and Claudia Bernardi, an Argentinian artist who is inspired by her forensic work of uncovering mass grave sites of the “disappeared” in Argentina and other parts of Central America.