Firelei Báez's painting "Vessel of Genealogies" is on display at the DePaul Art Museum as part of Báez's spring exhibition "Vessels of Genealogies." (Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Wendy Norris)From images celebrating Dominican heritage to pieces examining social and political issues, several new art exhibitions will open at the DePaul Art Museum this week.
Bright colors, patterns, hairstyles and textiles depicted on large-scale paintings and tapestries will help tell stories of identity, history and politics in the latest DePaul Art Museum exhibition, "Vessels of Genealogies," that's set to open April 27 and run through Aug. 6 on the museum's first floor.
Organized by the Tarble Arts Center at Eastern Illinois University, "Vessels of Genealogies" by Miami-based artist Firelei Báez is curated by Maria Elena Ortiz, the associate curator at the Pérez Art Museum in Miami.
A key figure in an anti-colonial movement against the Vietnamese government in the first half of the 20th century is the subject of the exhibition, "To Name It Is To See It," also set to open April 27 and run through Aug. 6 on the museum's second floor.
A leader of the Indochinese Communist Party in the 1930s, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai was killed by a French firing squad in 1941 after more than a decade of work as an anti-colonial figure and a master of disguise that featured both international espionage and national sabotage, says Chicago's Hương Ngô, the exhibition's artist.
"A Matter of Conscience" and "Stranger Things"
A pair of smaller exhibitions drawn primarily from the DePaul Art Museum collection, including selections from Chuck Thurow's 2016 gift, will also be on display during the spring-summer season.
"A Matter of Conscience" will run from April 27 to June 18 and presents works that reflect varying artistic approaches to politically charged content and pressing social issues. Mia Lopez, DePaul Art Museum assistant curator, is curating the exhibition. Featured artists are Siah Armajani, Margaret Burroughs, Alan Cohen, Paul D'Amato, Ester Hernandez, Michael Hernandez de Luna, Max King Cap, Rudzani Nemasetoni, Betye Saar, Aram Han Sifuentes, Andy Warhol and Garry Winogrand.
"Stranger Things" will follow from June 21 to Aug. 6 and includes artists who work against representational traditions in sculpture, drawing and painting to create forms that are at once familiar yet difficult to name. Widholm is curating the exhibition. Featured artists are Robert Bladen, Miriam Bloom, Alex Chitty, Chris Garofalo, Magalie Guerin, David Jackson, Paul LaMantia, Sterling Lawrence, Jim Lutes, Sandra Perlow, Richard Rezac and David Richards.
Admission is free at the DePaul Art Museum. Museum hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. For more on DePaul Art Museum's upcoming exhibitions and events, call 773-325-7506 or visit http://museums.depaul.edu/.