The National Veterans Art Museum is proud to announce Artifacts, our upcoming exhibition that explores the material and speculative objects that hold personal, cultural, and political import for those directly and indirectly impacted by war.

The exhibition features The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist by internationally celebrated artist Michael Rakowitz; Exit Wounds and What We Carried by the award winning photographer Jim Lommasson; Battle Beyond the Battlefield by former Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellow and veteran artist Alicia Dietz; Sum of My Father by former de Young Fine Arts Museum Resident and veteran artist Rodney Ewing; The Shrapnel Project by Purple Heart recipient and artist Phillip Schladweiler; and the award winning Combat Paper by veteran artist Drew Cameron.

Bringing together photography, sculpture, and installation, the artworks in Artifacts serve to expand the definition of “artifact” and examine the ways in which collected objects hold meaning and significance for people, societies, and history impacted by war.

NVAM Executive Director Brendan Foster states, “Artifacts is a powerful exhibit providing a unique artistic approach that combines both veteran and civilian perspectives about the effects of war on veterans, refugees, families, and communities. This new exhibition will offer the viewer an opportunity to experience and understand the broader context of the impact of combat.”

Curator, artist and veteran, Aaron Hughes adds, “This exhibition highlights what might at first seem like mundane objects, from snapshots to eyeglasses to packaging to a G.I. Joe doll, but actually help connect us to the profound effects of war and each other. This is an exhibition that examines those objects that hold the material legacy of war. It perhaps reveals how we imbue certain objects with meaning beyond their intended use.”

The opening reception will be Saturday, May 19th from 4p.m – 7p.m. and feature brief statements from the artists and curator.
The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, May 19th through Saturday September 22ndin the main galleries of the National Veterans Art Museum.
About the National Veterans Art Museum

The National Veterans Art Museum is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and exhibition of art inspired by combat and created by veterans. No other gallery in the world focuses on the subject of war from and artistic perspective, making this collection truly unique. The National Veterans Art Museum addresses both historical and contemporary issues related to military service in order to give patrons of all backgrounds insight into the effects of war and to provide veterans an artistic outlet to work through their military and combat experiences.

The National Veterans Art Museum is located at 4041 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is free. For group admission reservations visit www.nvam.org.

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Tags: Aaron Hughes, Alicia Dietz, Artifacts, Drew Cameron, Jim Lommasson, Michael Rakowitz, National Veterans Art Museum, NVAM, Phillip Schladweiler, Portage Park, Rodney Ewing