Likeness: Portraits by Four Contemporary Artists

Curated by Ron Abram, “Likeness” was an exhibition featuring portraits by Christian Faur, Susan Moore, Karen Schmidt, and Jim Winters.

My grandfather was born in Puerto Rico in 1902. I was always struck as a kid that anytime anyone ever took his photograph, Papa would say “Thank You.” Growing up in the age that he did, photography was still very special and he saw it as an honor that someone would want to have his likeness for themselves. In the “Selfie” drenched/IPhone ubiquitous culture that we live in today perhaps the charm of that perspective is gone. Our likenesses fill the Internet like water from a faucet.Likeness: Portraits by Four Contemporary Artists has been organized in conjunction with this year’s final Spectrum themed series at Denison, Real Utopias: From Dreams to Practice. As I thought about what makes a utopia or dystopia, I came to the conclusion that what defines either are the people that make up any given community and the relationships formed within.

Like the people that make up our small community at Denison, this exhibition brings together a collection of independent portraits that speak individually to the viewer but also connect to one another to form a collective expression. The strong use of mathematics, grids and series work by the artists speak to the inter-connectedness of us all. Through the chosen mediums of painting, drawing, print, knit sculpture and video, the four artists incorporate technology only as a means with which to observe their subjects and seek out the larger metaphorical issues of what it means to be humans in our complex contemporary world.

-Ron Abram

Featured Artist Websites: 
Christian Faur: http://www.christianfaur.com/
Susan Moore: http://www.susan-moore.com/
Karen Schmidt: http://www.sendmeyourhead.com/about/
Jim Winters: http://jimwinters.com/, 
 

 
Flickr Images of Opening Night