Visit the “True Likeness” exhibition in its current home at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design at North Carolina State University. Originating at the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College, “True Likeness” features portraits from eighteen different artists from across the U.S. and utilizes a range of materials and media. The exhibit debuted during the COVID-19 pandemic and the height of the 2020 election, offering a space for conversation on the importance of representation and the complex nature of truth. Though compelling and meaningful on their own, each portrait works together to reflect on ideas of diverse, multi-layered identities in America and the role of portraiture in this era. The collaborative collection of “True Likeness” questions how we perceive the varying identities in others and ourselves and how individuals come together to form one nuanced nation.
“True Likeness” was co-curated by Van Every/Smith Galleries’ director and curator Lia Newman and artist Tom Stanley. View information from the original exhibit at Davidson College here, or learn more about the creation of this travelling exhibit and the artists’ reflections of their work here.
The exhibit left Davidson College in 2021 and has travelled across galleries before landing at the Gregg Museum, where it will be on view through July of 2023. The opening reception of “True Likeness” will take place on Thursday, February 2nd, starting at 6pm. Co-curators Newman and Stanley will lead a curator talk about the exhibit on Thursday, March 9th, at 6pm.