Self Expression
20 artists explore the possibilities of self portraiture beyond representing the physical person of the artist, delving instead into other aspects of self.
Self Expression, installed at the Urban Arts Gallery, 2017. Works by Victoria Lee, and Namon Bills.
Self Expression
an exploration of the self portrait beyond the visible aspects of self
The self portrait is a time-honored tradition in the history of art. But how much do self portraits express about the self? What might a self portrait express if it discarded the requirement to represent the physical person of the artist, and instead delved into other aspects of self? In 2017 at Urban Arts Gallery in Salt Lake City, Self Expression examined these questions in an exploration of the self portrait, and, ultimately, the meaning of “self.”
This exhibit involved 20 artists, including several of my intermediate and advanced painting students, working in a variety of media.
The artists were given free rein to interpret the theme in any way they saw fit. The only requirement was that the work could not portray their physical person. In the exhibit, each artist’s work was accompanied by a brief artist’s statement describing how their work expressed a fundamental aspect of their self.
