NGV Assistant Curator Katharina Prugger introduces audiences to the works of New York-based artists Daniel Arsham and Fred Wilson on display in NGV Triennial.
Arsham’s Hidden Figures is comprised of human-scale figures drawn from two framed paintings in the NGV Collection: Giambattista Tiepolo’s The Banquet of Cleopatra 1743–44 and Nicolas Régnier’s Hero and Leander c. 1625–26. Arsham uses the form of draped fabric to turn the audiences attention to issues of race and representation in the history of European painting.
Wilson’s To die upon a kiss examines the history and presence of Africans in Venice. It is the second of a trilogy of Murano glass chandeliers created by Wilson introducing unexpected emotions and narrative’s through the ornate forms.
How do both Arsham and Wilson explore issues of race in history and art through their works?