Abstract
Ascendancy: The Self in Contemporary Art serves as an outlet of artistic exploration and a platform for the reclaiming of personal agency. Guest curator Camilo Alvarez brings together more than 100 contemporary paintings, prints, photographs, textiles, sculpture, and more that dismantle stereotypes and redefine ideas of identity within the contexts of historical and current social structures. By replacing recycled depictions of passive iconography with images of active agency, these artists create space for new perspectives on the ascendant, fluid nature of internal life and personal narratives.