Welcome Back to Wallach Art Gallery for ‘The Protest and The Recuperation’ Exhibition
Portions of this article were originally published by the Wallach Art Gallery.
The Protest and The Recuperation is a survey of artistic perspectives on, and responses to, the global phenomenon of mass protest and of recuperative strategies of resistance. The exhibition marks the Wallach’s return to opening its doors to the general public since the gallery went on lockdown due to the pandemic in March 2020.
“It is timely and appropriate to welcome the public back to the Wallach to view works that are an homage to the collective advocacy of social movements and the call to action against universal injustices,” said Betti-Sue Hertz, Wallach's director and chief curator.
The exhibition includes a global roster of artists: Khalid Albaih, Lara Baladi, Sharon Chin, Chow Chun Fai, Rachael Haynes, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Oliver Ressler, Josué Rivas, Hank Willis Thomas, and Eugenia Vargas-Pereira. Through participation, observation, interpretation, representation, and appropriation, they present nuanced perspectives on the value of protests as aggregate expressions of thousands, even millions, of individual participants.
The Protest and The Recuperation is a tribute to those who have gathered in solidarity to voice demands that the status quo must change and hails the messages and inventive creativity that have come to define the culture of progressive protest and dissent. The exhibition presents art that reveals the visual and performative aesthetics of these varied collective actions in the public sphere. It was developed as an exploration of what art can contribute to our understanding of this performative form and of the necessity of public gathering as a strategy for effecting change.
The gallery is open to the general public on Fridays and Saturdays, online reservations are required. Visit the Wallach Gallery website for more information on the exhibition, including gallery hours, gallery-visit registration links, and catalog order information. All exhibitions are open to the public, and provided free of charge. The Wallach Art Gallery's exhibition program is made possible with support from the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Endowment Fund, the gallery’s patrons, and additional support from Columbia University.