Kelli Connell
Dana DeGiulio
Daphne Fitzpatrick
Mary George
Allison Halter
Leeza Meksin
Betsy Odom
This exhibition examines the degrees to which identity and gender influence meaning in the work of six contemporary queer women artists. From painterly gestures to performative acts, sculptural installations to digitally altered photographs, the show explores the variety of approaches artists take in negotiating notions of identity.
Participating Artists:
Kelli Connell, Dana DeGiulio, Daphne Fitzpatrick, Mary George, Allison Halter, Leeza Meksin
curated by Betsy Odom
Tomboy examines the degrees to which identity and gender influence meaning in the work of six contemporary queer women artists. From painterly gestures to performative acts, sculptural installations to digitally altered photographs, this exhibition explores the variety of approaches artists take in negotiating notions of identity. These works turn away from the essentialism of early feminist art and the specificity of “identity art,” and instead employ identity in intentionally ambiguous, mercurial, and peripheral ways. Tomboy delves into the murky spaces between the personal, the political, and the formal in order to ask viewers the question: “can and should what we know about an artist be separated from how we experience their work?”
November 11, 2010, 5-8pm artist Performances include Indoor 5k, run with Mary George, 4:30-6:30pm
and I Will Always Love You, interactive performance by Allison Halter, 5:30pm
Accompanying Lecture
“Crossing the Line: Genre & Identity,” a reading and lecture by award-winning author Dorothy Allison, 7:30pm in the Conaway Center adjacent to the Glass Curtain Gallery
Additional Programming:
Cafe Society, a year-long series featuring several Columbia College exhibitions, welcomes the Columbia community and the public for a salon style discussion of Tomboy. November 16, 4:00-6:00pm in the Glass Curtain Gallery.
Panel Discussion: A candid discussion with Tomboy artists and Columbia College students. December 6, 1-3pm, Conaway Center, adjacent to Glass Curtain.
This program is produced by the Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces of Columbia College Chicago.
Press contact:
Exhibition information: Mark Porter, mporter@colum.edu
Press inquiries: Elizabeth Burke-Dain, eburkedain@colum.edu
Glass Curtain Gallery
Columbia College Chicago
1104 S Wabash Avenue, 1st floor, Chicago, IL 60605
Gallery Hours: Mon-Wed, Fri, 9-5pm,
Thurs 9-7pm, Sat Noon-5pm