Exhibitions
The Palmer Museum of Art presents new and changing special exhibitions and related programming every year. See below to explore what’s on view, what’s coming up, or what past exhibitions have been at the museum.
Exhibition Status: Past
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Sections
The exhibition and its accompanying publication are organized into three discrete sections along the notions of the presence and absence of the human body: “The Body in Society,” “The Artists is Present,” and “The Absent Body.”
The Body in Society
“The Body in Society” explores how identity is shaped through isolation, proximity, and interaction among figures depicted in groups or individually. These artists are concerned with the human form as an avenue for expressing the intersections and ruptures between privately and socially constructed identities. As humans, we interact with one another through speaking, listening, and touching. This engagement with the world is underscored in the concept of ubuntu, found in different societies on the African continent, which foregrounds the idea that the self is defined only in terms of relationships with others, and these relations foster individual well-being. Ibrahima Thiam, Péju Alatise, and Neo Matloga are among the artists in this section.
Sungi Mlengeya (Tanzanian, b. 1991), Ruka, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 55-1/4 x 78-5/8 x 1 inches. Sara Guyer and Scott Straus Contemporary African Art Initiative made possible by the Straus Family Foundation, 2022.5
The Artist is Present
These works examine artists’ production strategies of using their own bodies as the primary medium. Artists in this section devise poetics of improvisation to expose or ameliorate perilous states of being using the intersecting techniques of performance, photography, sculpture, animation, and painting. Through choreographed poses captured in photography and rendered in montage and collage, Lebohang Kganye, Collin Sekajugo, and Nana Yaw Oduro connect art to social interactions, narratives, and lived experiences in their respective locations. Here, the presence of the artist’s body in their work is an act of self-definition.
Collin Sekajugo (Ugandan, b. 1980), The Yellow Jerrycan, 2019, photo print, polypropylene, and acrylic on canvas, 79 x 58 x 5 inches. Sara Guyer and Scott Straus Contemporary African Art Initiative made possible by the Straus Family Foundation, 2020.27
The Absent Body
Artists draw on more than the body’s physical manifestation to represent the human figure. They depict the body through accessories (like clothing and prayer beads) and accouterments (such as furniture and language), prompting the viewer to form a mental image of the body. The artists in this section suggest the body’s presence using techniques as varied as the themes they explore: fabrication, assemblage, printmaking, painting, and ceramics. The artists included, such as El Loko, Barthélémy Toguo, and Immy Mali, encourage us to imagine the world’s messy and redeeming features by subsuming the body.
Ajarb Bernard Ategwa (Cameroonian, b. 1988), A Girl with a Blue Shirt, acrylic on paper, 38 x 27-5/8 x 1-5/8 inches. Sara Guyer and Scott Straus Contemporary African Art Initiative made possible by the Straus Family Foundation, 2021.27.2
Artists Included
Souad Abdelrassoul (Egyptian, b. 1974)
Dawit Abebe (Ethiopian, b. 1978)
Péju Alatise (Nigerian, b. 1975)
Ajarb Bernard Ategwa (Cameroonian, b. 1988)
Omar Ba (Senegalese, b. 1977)
Leilah Babirye (Ugandan, active in US, b. 1985)
Ranti Bam (Nigerian, active in UK, b. 1982)
François-Xavier Gbré (French, active in Cote d’Ivoire, b. 1978)
Jackie Karuti (Kenyan, b. 1987)
Lebohang Kganye (South African, b. 1990)
El Loko (Togolese, 1950–2016)
Gonçalo Mabunda (Mozambican, b. 1975)
Immy Mali (Ugandan, b. 1990)
Neo Matloga (South African, b. 1993)
Sungi Mlengeya (Tanzanian, b. 1991)
Nana Yaw Oduro (Ghanaian, b. 1994)
Léonard Pongo (Congolese, born Belgium 1988)
Collin Sekajugo (Ugandan, b. 1980)
Khaled Ben Slimane (Tunisian, b. 1951)
Ibrahima Thiam (Senegalese, b. 1976)
Barthélémy Toguo (Cameroonian, b. 1967)
Malick Welli (Senegalese, b. 1990)
Related Programs
See below for a list of programs related to special exhibition Structures, Systems, and Society: Work at the Interface of Art and Engineering.
Please see our Programs page for specific information about each program.
Thursday, September 18 | 5:30 p.m.
Gallery Talk: Structures, Systems, and Society
Thursday, December 4 | Free, drop-in, 5 to 8 p.m.
Art After Hours: Engineering Creativity
Thursday, December 4 | 6 p.m. (during Art After Hours)
Gallery Talk: Structures, Systems, and Society
Curricular Resources
Explore these curricular resources to support interdisciplinary teaching across art and engineering. Browse the guide for a survey of experiential learning activities and sample discussion questions for students at any level.
Access the Guide
Sections
Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld is broken into five overall sections for visitors to explore.
Into the Wilds
This section features works that bring to mind historical and modern excursions while also parodying the traditional stories and players of well-known naturalists in the “explorer genre,” who were often flawed figures.
Natural Histories
The art in this section moves beyond depictions of flora and fauna to the artists’ focus on probing evolutionary and biogeographical history and the natural histories humans have built around them.
In Deep Waters
This section dives into beleaguered aquatic environments and how each artists appreciates and examines our relationship with water.
Time Travels
Artworks in this section often feature reexamination of extinct species and distant time periods or transport visitors into future worlds where the effects of our current human choices are unveiled.
American Landscape
The single work in this section is a culmination of Dion and Rockman’s work together, highlighting a sculptural diorama that is a collaboration between the two artists.
Related Programs
See below for a list of programs related to special exhibition Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature's Underworld.
Please see our Programs page for specific information about each program.
Thursday, September 4 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Creative Studio at the Palmer: Sustainable Art Journals
Thursday, September 11 | 6 p.m.
Artist Lecture: Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman
Registration is full. CLICK HERE to sign up for the waitlist.
Sunday, September 14 | 3 p.m.
Drop-in Tour: America’s Changing Environments: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Monday, August 25 through Thursday, September 25
Tracking Trash: A Community Collection
CLICK HERE to submit to the Trash Tracker!
Thursday, September 25 | Free, drop-in, 5 to 8 p.m.
Art After Hours: Journey to Nature’s Underworld
Thursday, September 25 | 6 p.m.
Gallery Talk: Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld
Friday, September 26 | 2 p.m.
Drop-in Tour: Through the Guide’s Eye – Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld
Thursday, October 16 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Creative Studio at the Palmer: Collage Fodder for Sustainable Art Journals
Saturday, October 18 | Noon to 4 p.m.
Community Day: Journey to Nature’s Underworld
Sunday, October 19 | 2 p.m.
Drop-in Tour: PSU Family Weekend: Visions of a Changing Planet
Thursday, October 23 | 5:30 p.m.
Gallery Talk: Journey to Nature’s Underworld
Thursday, November 6 | 6 p.m.
Garden and Gallery Book Conversation
Free with registration required. Prior reading of Robert Macfarlane’s Underland expected. CLICK HERE to register.
Friday, November 7 | 2 p.m.
Drop-in Tour: From Farm to Table
Thursday, November 13 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Creative Studio at the Palmer: Scrap it Up! for Sustainable Art Journals
Friday, November 14 | Noon
Gallery Talk – Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld
Thursday, November 20 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
DIRTy Date Night with the Arboretum
$45 per couple; 10 couples max
Sunday, November 23 | 2 p.m.
Drop-in Tour: The Price of Progress
Sunday, December 7 | 2 p.m.
Drop-in Tour: Art, Exploration, and the Stories We Collect
Exhibition-Related Online Resources
Educator Resource Guide
This guide contains exhibition and section summaries, selected images, discussion guides, and additional online resources to support K–12 educators in introducing students.Access the Guide
Reading Connections
Explore exhibition themes through related literature that explores the relationship between humans and the global environment. Selections are available for all reading levels, from picture books for preschoolers to potential book club reads for adults. Click below for a full list of related books, along with brief descriptions and discussion guides.View the Reading List
Music Playlist
Connect to exhibition themes through music with this playlist celebrating a love of nature and a concern for environmental crisis.Listen to the Playlist