The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity 1869-1939
Wrightwood 659, Chicago, Il, May 2-July 26 2025
- Lead Curator, Japanese Section
Description: The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939 explores a sea change in how society regarded homosexuality in the wake of the coining of the term “homosexual” in 1869. Before this watershed moment, same-sex desire marked something you did, not necessarily something you were. The First Homosexuals examines how, for the first time, homosexuals were cleaved from the rest of the population and given an identity which turned on their sexuality. Since the invention of the “homosexual,” sexuality has become totalizing, determining who you are at your core. A little over two years ago while still in the midst of the global pandemic, Wrightwood 659 offered a taste of this upcoming exhibition’s approach and scope in a small preview entitled The First Homosexuals: Global Depictions of a New Identity, 1869-1930.
The forthcoming exhibition is unprecedented with more than 300 works by more than 125 artists from 40 countries, on loan from over 100 museums and private collections across the world, including the Musée d’ Orsay, The Tate, The Courtauld, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kunsthaus Zürich, National Museum of Denmark, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Museo Gregorio Prieto, and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, among others. A number of works are national treasures which have never before been allowed to travel outside their countries.
CUTE: The Irresistible Rise of Cuteness in Contemporary Culture
Somerset House, London, UK, January 25-April 24, 2024
- Consultant
Description: From emojis to internet memes, video games to plushie toys, food to loveable robotic design, cuteness has taken over our world. But how has something so charming and seemingly harmless – adorable, doe-eyed animals, chubby-cheeked babies, flowers, hearts, stars, sweets and other such romantic motifs – gained such traction?
CUTE brings together contemporary artworks, including new artist commissions, and cultural phenomena such as music, fashion, toys, video games and social media, in this brand-new show examining the world’s embrace of cute culture and how it has become such an influential measure of our times. It will seek to unravel cuteness’ emotive charge, revealing its extraordinary and complex power and potential.
Arthur Tress and the Japanese Illustrated Book
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, University of Pennsylvania, September 29-December 16, 2022
- Assistant Curator
Description: In June 2018 renowned contemporary photographer Arthur Tress generously donated his collection of Japanese illustrated books and prints to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Totaling over one thousand titles and representing nearly four hundred years of publishing history, Tress’s collection spans the historical range of the Japanese illustrated book. This exhibition presents highlights from the collection, including seventeenth century manuscripts, evocative landscape studies and painting manuals, poetry coterie books and comic novels, as well as modern design and textile studies.
Imagined as a study collection, Tress’s gift formed the backbone of three curatorial seminars where undergraduate and graduate students alike engaged with the rich cultural and intellectual history of the Japanese book. Displaying a selection of Japanese books along with Tress’s own photography, this exhibition places the Japanese illustrated book into conversation with Tress’s photographs. The exhibition engages Tress’s practices as both artist and collector, juxtaposing the two media to present moments of unexpected visual poetry that resonate across geographic place and time.
Patrick Carland-Echavarria 