overview
Drawn entirely from MMoCA’s permanent collection, Mirror Image presents the evolution of the portrait from the early twentieth century to the present. A mirrored reflection of the presence of both artist and sitter, portraiture has long been a part of the history of art. While often depicting physical likeness, portraiture also addresses issues of identity and the personality of an individual. The introduction of the photograph, alongside the movement to abstraction, shifted the portrait from an elite mode of documentation to a more conceptual approach of representing self and other.
Today the contemporary practice of portraiture is even more accessible through the ubiquitous social media phenomenon of the selfie. Throughout history, the portrait remains a means for engagement with others and for the memorialization of self. Mirror Image contains over 100 portraits—over half haven’t been on view in over two decades, including 30 works that have never been on view. The exhibition features work by artists Gertrude Abercrombie, Ivan Albright, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Warrington Colescott, Jim Dine, David Hockney, Alex Katz, Käthe Kollwitz, Henri Matisse, Jim Nutt, Diego Rivera, and Karl Wirsum.
Artwork
Self-Portrait at 55 Division Street
1947
Ivan Le Lorraine Albright
Mujer con rebozo / Woman with Rebozo
1938
Emilio Amero
Sketch Portrait of Denys Wortman in New Britain Museum
c. 1953
Thomas Hart Benton
No. 2 from the Dance of Life Suite
1978, printed 1984
Harry Bowers
Señor de Papantla / Man from Papantla
1934-35, printed 1977
Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Untitled (woman with scissors)
no date
Duane Brissette
Untitled (man smoking cigarette)
no date
Duane Brissette
Self-Portrait Smoking the Plate
1980
Warrington Colescott
Self-portrait with Sandy
1974, published 1976
Cherie Hiser
Tossing a Friend (Melinda) (1, 2, and 3)
1996
Martin Kersels
Tossing a Friend (Melinda) (1, 2, and 3)
1996
Martin Kersels
Tossing a Friend (Melinda) (1, 2, and 3)
1996
Martin Kersels
Call of Death (Ruf des Todes)
c. 1937
Käthe Kollwitz
Mental Hospital, Hargeisa, Somaliland
n.d.
Narayan Mahon
Self-Portrait as if I were Dead
1968
Duane Michals
He Might Be a Dipdick But They Are a Pair
1972
Jim Nutt
He Might Be a Dipdick But They Are a Pair
1972
Jim Nutt
John Wood & Eric Renner, Santa Fe
1976
Eric Renner
Comic Book Specimen #2, Right Profile
1968
Ray Yoshida
Exhibition Sponsors
Generous support for Mirror Image has been provided by JoAnne Robbins and David Falk; the Theda and Tamblin Clark Smith Family Foundation; Bell Laboratories; Chuck Bauer and Chuck Beckwith; a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts; and MMoCA Volunteers.