This exhibition features nearly forty artworks devoted to creative interpretations of the human figure. The eclectic group of contemporary works by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Viola Frey, Jim Dine, Salomón Huerta, Hung Liu, Dinh Q. Lê, and Roland Fischer, is drawn from the RBC Wealth Management Art Collection. For 15 years, RBC has built a collection that encompasses a wide range of artists and artistic mediums. Regularly displayed at the firm’s headquarters in Minneapolis, the collection has grown to more than 400 pieces, allowing for a selection of the collection to be shared with the public.
Whether a striking realistic portrait or a figural study of the human body, the works in the exhibition probe the depths of the individual psyche, while offering an intimate investigation of the human condition. Don McNeil, curator of the collection and exhibition, explains that RBC “features the human figure in its art collection because it believes that the age-old need to understand the human condition is still vital and that the human form remains its most direct manifestation.”
The earliest known drawings and sculptures depicted human and animal figures. These artistic expressions centered on matters most important to early man – success in the hunt and fertility. As society evolved, the human figure maintained its importance in artistic endeavors and is the major focal point in artistic expression to this day.