Human Marks: Tattooing in Contemporary Art will make its debut September 11, followed by a full-day symposium September 12. The exhibition brings together fifteen global contemporary artists to explore how tattooing shapes their art practices in experimental and relevatory ways.
With a range of surprising media—including a contemporary take on scrimshaw, wearable works in silicone, and even perfumery—Human Marks presents the full creative spectrum of these remarkable artists to ask what the world of contemporary art can learn from the ethics, strategies, and values that are formed in today’s tattoo studios.
Exhibiting artists include Kaur Alia Ahmed, Oz Bardos, Makoto Chi, Nassim Dayoub, Evan Paul English, Gesiye, Don Ed Hardy, Ciara Havishya, Dr. Lakra, Christopher Martin, Duke Riley, Miller Robinson, Tamara Santibañez, Lyric Shen, and Jayna Won.
Human Marks will be the 8th International Distinguished Artists Symposium and Exhibition (IDASE), reviving this esteemed program after an eleven-year hiatus. In keeping with the legacy of IDASE—which has brought the likes of Christo, Robert Smithson, Ana Mendieta, and Kiki Smith to the University of Hartford campus—the Hartford Art School Galleries commissioned six new works for the exhibition, including a giant sailboat sail on view in Harrison Libraries, as well as an adjacent installation and performance in Silpe Gallery by Creighton Baxter and Miller Robinson.
The Hartford Art School will host a full-day symposium on Friday, September 12 featuring panels with twelve of the exhibiting artists, in addition to demonstrations, performances, and a keynote address by Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory from the University of Essex, Dr. Matt Lodder. Events are free and open to the public, with pre-registration recommended via this online form.
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated book from Hirmer Publishers that will be available for purchase at the galleries, or online. The exhibition and programming are generously supported by funds held by Hartford Art School Endowment, Inc. and a grant from the Roberts Foundation for the Arts.
For more information about the Hartford Art School Galleries, visit www.hartford.edu/gallery.