The Henry will close at 3 PM on FRI, FEB 3 to prepare for the opening of Thick as Mud! ➞

In Plain Sight
 
Henry Art Gallery
November 23, 2019 — August 30, 2020
This group exhibition engages artists whose work addresses narratives, communities, and histories that are typically hidden or invisible in our public space (both conceptually and literally defined). The presenting artists approach the exhibition’s theme from a range of directions, varying across all media as well as aesthetic and conceptual contexts. Works encompass deliberately activist endeavors and direct documentation; the unpacking of individual histories excluded due to race, ethnicity, or class; explorations of coded language for protection, secrecy, or both; the illumination of invisible or covert systems of labor, exploitation, and capitalist control; and translation through surreal, oblique, or fantastical frameworks.
ARTISTS
Sadie Barnette
Sanford Biggers
Andrea Bowers
Tom Burr
Fiona Connor
william cordova
Beatriz Cortez
Hayv Kahraman
Nicole Miller
Alison O’Daniel
Ebony G. Patterson
Mika Rottenberg
A.L. Steiner
Oscar Tuazon
 
The exhibition expands into the entire museum, including interstitial/transitional spaces, and activates external sites through programs, performances, and community partnerships. Site becomes a material through which what we have heretofore considered the complete, authoritative story is expanded and retold.
Video
Artist Alison O'Daniel on her work in "In Plain Sight" at the Henry

Publication

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A publication accompanying the exhibition and featuring individual artist essays as well as a thematic essay by Shamim M. Momin, Henry Director of Curatorial Affairs, is available in the Henry Shop.

Buy now

CREDITS

In Plain Sight is organized by Shamim M. Momin, Senior Curator. Lead support is provided by the True Family. This exhibition is also made possible through the generous support of Virginia and Bagley Wright, 4Culture, Phillips, the Washington State Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. Media sponsorship is provided by The Stranger.

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Related Content

Related Programs

<p>Opera singer J’Nai Bridges filmed by Nicole Miller for this commission. Nicole Miller, <i>To the Stars,</i> 2019 (still); commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of the artist.</p>
Screenings

SCREENING ONLINE - In Plain Sight Film Series: To the Stars

May 20, 2020 – May 21, 2020
<p><em>Image copyright of the artist, courtesy of Video Data Bank, <a href="http://www.vdb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.vdb.org</a>, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.</em></p>
Screenings

SCREENING ONLINE - In Plain Sight Film Series: Community Action Center

May 6, 2020
<p>Courtesy of the Northwest Film Forum.</p>
Screenings

SCREENING ONLINE - In Plain Sight Film Series: Sight Lines - Video Poetry Showcase

April 15, 2020
<p><em>Hidden (Escondido)</em>. Directed by Miguel Baratta. Argentina. 2019. 1h 10m. Courtesy of the Northwest Film Forum.</p>
Screenings

SCREENING ONLINE - In Plain Sight Film Series: Hidden (Escondido) & Space Needle: A Hidden History

March 18, 2020
<p>David Hartt. <i>Kiosk at The Johnson Publishing Company Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois.</i> 2011. Inkjet print mounted to Dibond. Henry Art Gallery, purchased with funds from Edie Adams, 2014.1.</p>
Talks & Performances

ONLINE - Re/frame: The Built Environment

April 30, 2020
<p>David Hartt. <i>Kiosk at The Johnson Publishing Company Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois.</i> 2011. Inkjet print mounted to Dibond. Henry Art Gallery, purchased with funds from Edie Adams, 2014.1.</p>
Talks & Performances

ONLINE - Re/frame: The Built Environment

April 30, 2020
<p>Mika Rottenberg. Still of <em>Cosmic Generator (Loaded #2)</em>. 2017/2018. Single-channel video installation, sound, color; 26:36 min. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser &amp; Wirth.</p>
Talks & Performances

CANCELLED - Laboring in Plain Sight: From Cosmic Generator to the Pacific Northwest

March 15, 2020
<p>Alison O'Daniel. <em>The Tuba Thieves. </em>2013-ongoing. HD video. Written, directed, edited by Alison O'Daniel based on musical scores by Christine Sun Kim, Ethan Frederick Greene, and Steve Roden<em>. </em>Cinematography by Meena Singh and Judy Phu<em>. </em>Image courtesy of the artist.</p>
Screenings

The Tuba Thieves: Limited Screening

February 7, 2020 – February 9, 2020
<p>Alison O'Daniel. <em>The Tuba Thieves</em>. 2013-ongoing. HD video. Written, directed, edited by Alison O'Daniel based on musical scores by Christine Sun Kim, Ethan Frederick Greene, and Steve Roden. Cinematography by Meena Singh and Judy Phu. Image courtesy of the artist.<br /></p>
Talks & Performances

The Tuba Thieves: Performance and Conversation

February 8, 2020
<p>Oscar López Rivera</p>
Talks & Performances

Oscar López Rivera: Resistance and Resilience - Puerto Rico's Recovery from Debt, Hurricanes, and Colonialism

February 18, 2020
<p>Courtesy of the artist.</p>
Programs

ArtVenture: Shape of Family with Devon Midori Hale

January 5, 2020
<p>Alison O’Daniel, <i>The Tuba Thieves - Interludes: The Sea, The Stars, A Landscape</i>. 2013-ongoing. HD video. Written, directed, edited by Alison O'Daniel, starring Nyke Prince, produced by Rachel Nederveld, cinematography by Judy Phu.</p>
Talks & Performances

In Plain Sight Curator Tour: Shamim M. Momin

December 14, 2019
Talks & Performances

In Plain Sight - Artists in Conversation: Andrea Bowers, Tom Burr, Beatriz Cortez, Nicole Miller

November 23, 2019
<p>Nicole Miller. <em>Athens, California</em>. 2016. Three-channel HD video. Courtesy of the artist and Koenig &amp; Clinton, Brooklyn. Photo: Brian Forrest.</p>
Programs

Public Opening: In Plain Sight

November 22, 2019
<p>Hayv Kahraman. <em>The Audience</em>. 2018. Oil on linen. Collection Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas, Gift of the Jedel Family Foundation. Courtesy of the artist and Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.</p>
Talks & Performances

Patron Preview: In Plain Sight

November 22, 2019
<p>Oscar Tuazon. <em>Los Angeles Water School (LAWS). </em>2018. Mixed media. Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, and Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, New York. Photo: Jeremy Jansen.</p>
Programs

Watershed: A Poetry Workshop with Claudia Castro Luna

November 16, 2019
Programs

ArtVenture: Hidden Panels with Andrea Marcos

December 1, 2019
<p>Image courtesy of the artist.</p>
Programs

ArtVenture: Our Bodies of Water

November 3, 2019