The trilogy of exhibitions in the gallery’s inaugural year offer varied interpretations on the theme of Utopian Imagination. The exhibitions bring together a diverse group of international artists who draw on craft, activism, data visualization, and agitprop to point the way to a more just future.

Perilous Bodies, the first exhibition in the series, includes photography, sculpture, video, installation, and performance by artists using their own cultural traditions to address oppression. Exploring societal violence fueled by xenophobia, racism, class, and gender inequality, these  artworks make powerful statements about ideas and realities we are quick to turn away from: black bodies, refugee camps, the detritus of borderlands, broken earth. Through these works, the artists seek to transform a world in peril into one we all want to live in.

The Utopian Imagination exhibition trilogy concept was developed by Jaishri Abichandani.

More from this exhibition

The Perilous Bodies Installation on exhibit in the Ford Foundation Gallery.
Gallery Events

Curator-led tour: March

The Perilous Bodies Installation on exhibit in the Ford Foundation Gallery.
Gallery Events

Curator-led tour: May

Road to Exile, 2018

Barthélémy Toguo

b. 1967, Cameroon/France
Road to Exile, 2018
Wooden boat, fabric bags, glass bottles and plastic containers
92 x 64 x 140 inches

Damascene Athan Series, 2017

Mohamad Hafez

b. 1984, Syria/USA
Damascene Athan Series, 2017
Mixed media
34 x 24 x 8 inches each

"Untitled (Winnie re-enactment)" from Untitled (Of Occult Instability)[Feelings], 2016-18

Dineo Seshee Bopape

b.1981, South Africa
“Untitled (Winnie re-enactment)” from Untitled (Of Occult Instability)[Feelings], 2016-18
Mixed-media installation

America, Flag #54, 2017

Sara Rahbar

b. 1976, Iran/USA
America, Flag #54, 2017
74 x 37 inches
Land of the Free, Flag #55, 2017
64 x 40 inches
Collected vintage objects on vintage US flags

Hellfire II, 2017- 2018

Mahwish Chishty

b. 1980, Pakistan/USA
Hellfire II, 2017- 2018
Over 400 cast foam replicas of hellfire missiles

finding one’s shadow in ruins and rubble, 2014

Tiffany Chung

b. 1969, Vietnam/USA
finding one’s shadow in ruins and rubble, 2014
Handcrafted mahogany wooden boxes, found photos printed on plexi-glass, LED lights, electrical wire
13 x 144 x 40 inches

Bringing Tibet Home, 2013

Tenzing Rigdol

b. 1982, Nepal/India/USA
Bringing Tibet Home, 2013
Documentary film, 1hr 22min

The Weight of Scars, 2015

Otobong Nkanga

b. 1974, Nigeria/Belgium
The Weight of Scars, 2015
Viscose, wool, mohair, and cotton
99 x 241 inches

inmysleeplesssolitudetonight, portrait of the florida girls, 2019

David Antonio Cruz

b. 1974, USA
inmysleeplesssolitudetonight, portrait of the florida girls, 2019
Oil and enamel on wood
48 x 72 inches

Ama, Amachi, and Mother. We are still here, 2019

Thenmozhi Soundararajan

b. 1976, USA
Ama, Amachi, and Mother. We are still here, 2019.
Copper, wood, and ink
48 x 36 x 2 inches each

Space in Between - Nopal #5, 2007

Margarita Cabrera

b. 1973, Mexico/USA
Space in Between – Nopal #5, 2007
Border patrol uniform fabric, copper wire, thread, terra cotta pot
50 x 51 x 49 inches

The Blue Wall of Violence, 1999

Dread Scott

b. 1965, USA
The Blue Wall of Violence, 1999
Installation: targets, coffin, police batons, motors, steel pipe, cast arms, wallet, candy bar, squirt gun, squeegee, house keys
8 x 16 x 4 feet

Demeter’s Morning, 2019

Nona Faustine

b. 1977, USA
Demeter’s Morning, 2019
Archival pigment print
60 x 84 inches

Coyote Decoy with Pendleton Blankets, 2016

Wendy Red Star

b. 1981, USA/Apsáalooke/Crow
Coyote Decoy with Pendleton Blankets, 2016
Four serape Pendleton blankets, wood pallets, coyote hunting decoy
54 x 40 x 48 inches

Umma’s Tongue–molten at 6000°, 2018

Hannah Brontë

b. 1991, Australia
Umma’s Tongue–molten at 6000°, 2018
HD video, 4:50min

La Piñata, 2003

Teresa Serrano

b. 1936, Mexico/USA
La Piñata, 2003
Single channel video, 5:45min

Meet To Sleep / I Never ‘Ask For It,’ 2016-2018

Jasmeen Patheja

b. 1979, India
Meet To Sleep / I Never ‘Ask For It,’ 2016-2018
Documentary photos

Sirvientes y Escaleras / Servants and Ladders, 2015

Guillermo Galindo

b. 1960, Mexico/USA
Sirvientes y Escaleras / Servants and Ladders, 2015
Aluminum ladder with various border artifacts 132 x 24 x 10 inches