Exhibitions

Place and Presence: Photography from the Collection

July 9–August 30, 2009
Alsdorf Gallery

Brad Temkin, Lalou—Copenhagen, Denmark, from the series Portraits, 2005, dye coupler print (chromogenic). Block Museum, 2006.16. Courtesy of Brad Temkin.

Photography has always been an important part of the Block Museum's permanent collection and exhibitions. This selection of photographs from the Block's holdings evokes the complex dimensions of locations and people. From quiet interiors and mysterious landscapes to intimate portraits and symbolic visages, the works in this exhibition look at the way we experience places and perceive character beneath the surface. Through the artists' acute observation, photographic manipulation, or lesss conventional means, the photos in Place and Presence engage us to contemplate intangible properties, or the seen and unseen. The exhibition features work by Chicago-based photographers, including Suzette Bross, Scott Fortino, Laura Letinsky, Joseph Sterling, and Brad Temkin, as well as international artists such as Luis González Palma from Guatemala and the Iranian-born Shirin Neshat.  

Read an article about the exhibition in TimeOut Chicago.

Click on the picture for a slideshow. (Requires Adobe Flash Player)

Related Events

• Tours. Free guided tours of this exhibition and the Block Museum's Outdoor Sculpture Garden take place Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm from July 11 to
  August 30.

• Gallery Talk. Join Block Museum senior curator Debora Wood for an in-depth discussion of the works in Place and Presence. Friday, July 24, 6 pm.