Cryptic at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis

Cryptic: The Use of Allegory in Contemporary Art, with a Master Class from Goya
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
May 20 – August 14, 2011

The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition called Cryptic: The Use of Allegory in Contemporary Art, with a Master Class from Goya. This exhibition will feature the work of six contemporary artists – Folkert de Jong, Hiraki Sawa, Allison Schulnik, Dana Schutz, Javier Tellez, and Erika Wanenmacher – paired with works by Spanish master Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. Organized by CAM and curated by Santa Fe‐based independent curator Laura Steward, the exhibition will run from May 20 through August 14, 2011, and be accompanied by a CAM‐produced publication and series of diverse public programs.

Cryptic explores the way contemporary artists make use of allegory – a figurative mode of representation conveying meaning other than the literal – in a wide variety of media. The juxtaposition of recent works with examples from two series of prints by Goya, the Caprichos and the Disparates (also known as the Proverbs), is intended to prompt consideration of how artists over the years have “encrypted” difficult, uncomfortable, and often socio‐politically loaded meanings within allegory and continue to do so in the present day. Particularly in light of recent global events, this exhibition offers a timely exploration of the role that contemporary artists play as commentators on the world around us.