Breath Taking

Breath. It is one of the first things we do in life and one of the last, but in between we generally don’t give it much thought. In this exhibition, contemporary artists find inventive ways to express this fundamental and elusive act by measuring it, scanning it, enclosing it, evoking it, and reminding us of our own vulnerability. 

Several artists approach the subject from a personal, meditative perspective while others consider the scientific and social justice ramifications, directly addressing threats to breath that have been at the forefront of public consciousness over the past year, including the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the use of choke-holds as a method of restraint for people of color. 

Included are more than forty-five drawings, installations, photographs, sculpture, and video by artists Stuart Allen, Linda Alterwitz, Dan Estabrook, Brian Finke, David S. Goodsell, Cynthia Greig, Alison Keogh, Sant Khalsa, Marietta Patricia Leis, Shaun Leonardo, Tony Mobley, Jill O’Bryan, Peter Olson, Kim Richardson, Frank Rodick, Meridel Rubenstein, Don J. Usner, and Will Wilson.