Any portrait is both a document and a subjective record of the relationship between the artist and his or her sitter, blurring distinctions between public and private. Presenting more than fifty visually striking and conceptually diverse works from the past three decades, Likeness investigates the private interactions and social dramas of a loose network of artists who were active in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Berlin. Many of the images evoke the heightened intimacy that is palpable between artists who are close friends, while others pay homage to muses and mentors, or treat the portrait as a memento mori, as in Nan Goldin’s and AA Bronson’s images of fellow artists David Wojnarowicz and Felix Partz. In each of the paintings, photographs, drawings, and other works on view, the sitter’s active contribution to the final image is readily apparent, as is the inherent license granted to experiment outside the realm of conventional portraiture.

The exhibition, curated by Matthew Higgs, director and chief curator at White Columns, New York, is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with essays by Higgs, David Robbins, and San Francisco-based writer Kevin Killian.

Exhibition Itinerary
Final Itinerary

California College of Arts, Wattis Institute
San Francisco, California
February 28 – May 8, 2004

McColl Center for Visual Art
Charlotte, North Carolina
September 3 – November 6, 2004

Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston, Massachusetts
January 19 – May 1, 2005

Dalhousie University Art Gallery
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
May 26 – July 31, 2005

University Art Museum, California State
University at Long Beach
Long Beach, California
August 30 – October 30, 2005

Illingworth Kerr Gallery
Alberta College of Art & Design
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
January 12 – February 26, 2006

Contemporary Art Center of Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
March 23 – May 12, 2006