SAIC Galleries to Exhibit the First Major Retrospective and Symposium of Artist and Educator Barbara DeGenevieve

This fall, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) will exhibit the first major retrospective of Chicago-based artist Barbara DeGenevieve at SAIC Galleries. In Your Face: Barbara DeGenevieve, Artist & Educator will feature a wide array of her video, photography, and installation pieces. It will run from September 13 to December 7, 2024, and SAIC Galleries will host a symposium on September 14 to give context to her work.

DeGenevieve (1947–2014) embraced the label “transgressive artist” and fearlessly made work focused on the body that explored sexuality, gender, pornography, censorship, race, class, and representation. Her work often challenged conventional gallery etiquette, resulting in her being overlooked by mainstream art venues. Despite this, her intellectual rigor and artistic vision left a profound impact on the field, challenging norms, provoking critical inquiry, and expanding the boundaries of photographic discourse.

In Your Face: Barbara DeGenevieve, Artist & Educator will also address the theme of censorship in the arts, featuring works by other significant artists of DeGenevieve’s generation who faced similar challenges. “All of my work is intended to present questions, not answers,” said DeGenevieve, who passed away in 2014. “And it’s in the questions that it presents that I believe the art is created.”

“As an educator, Barbara taught her students to challenge the status quo and interrogate complex issues surrounding gender, class, and race,” shared SAIC Associate Professor Alan Labb, who curated the exhibition with support from Professor Lisa Wainwright. “These same issues are just as relevant today as when Barbara was teaching and making.”

DeGenevieve was a full professor at SAIC from 1994 to 2014. Throughout her tenure, she was an influential professor in the Department of Photography, the long-term chair of the department, and a mentor to hundreds of students.

Developed over a five-year period, the exhibition required extensive research, close analysis of her entire estate and archive, detailed cataloging of objects, and numerous conversations with colleagues, students, artists, and administrators who knew her. It will highlight the importance of DeGenevieve’s role as a mentor and include ephemera that provide insight into her artistic process and methodology.

On September 14, SAIC will also host a related day-long symposium, In Your Face: A Symposium on Transgressive Pleasure, in the SAIC Ballroom at 112 South Michigan Avenue beginning at 10:00 a.m.. The event will feature a keynote address by David Getsy, Eleanor Shea Professor of Art History at the University of Virginia, and an introduction by Alan Labb. The symposium will include three panels moderated by SAIC faculty members Jeremy Biles, Kirin Wachter-Grene, and Adam Greteman, focusing on key themes of the erotics of art, interclass contact, and radical pedagogy. The following events will also accompany the exhibition:

Visiting Artists Program: Samuel Delany Virtual Lecture, September 10, 6:00–7:30 p.m.

Public Reception: Friday, September 13, 5:00–7:00 p.m., SAIC Galleries

Student exhibition of works responding to DeGenevieve’s assignment prompts, opens November 8, with a public reception on November 9, SAIC Galleries
Curator Tours with Alan Labb and Lisa Wainwright, SAIC Galleries

Tuesday, September 3, 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 19, 3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, November 13, 5:00 p.m.

SAIC Galleries, located at 33 East Washington Street, is free and open to the public Monday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A state-issued ID is required for entry. Visit saic.edu/exhibitions/saic-galleries to learn more. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

This exhibition features contemporary art with adult content and is intended for mature audiences.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For more than 155 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world, and adults, teens, and kids in our Continuing Studies classes have the opportunity to explore their creative sides, build portfolios, and advance their skills. Notable alumni and faculty include Georgia O’Keeffe, Nick Cave, David Sedaris, Cynthia Rowley, Michelle Grabner, Richard Hunt, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Jeff Koons.

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Tags: Alan Labb, Barbara DeGenevieve, Chicago, In Your Face: Barbara DeGenevieve Artist & Educator, Lisa Wainwright, Loop, SAIC Galleries