I See Myself in You: Selections from the Collection

Brooklyn Museum, Contemporary Art Galleries, 4th Floor
200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York 11238–6052

El Anatsui (Ghanaian, b. 1944). Black Block, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133¹⁄₂ in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a, b. © El Anatsui. (Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Brooklyn Museum)

The works on view in I See Myself in You: Selections from the Collection show real and imagined bodies, sometimes in fragments and sometimes whole, and sometimes just the elusive trace of a human presence. In works ranging from plaster reproductions of the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti to painted likenesses of a female artist assuming the appearance of Pop art icon Andy Warhol to photographs of 1990s-era Brooklynites, the stories they call forth are shaped by history, current events, and place, as well as the sights and sounds of daily life.

I See Myself in You demonstrates our continuing commitment to living artists and to collecting distinctive art of our time, highlighting both recent acquisitions and works that have entered our collection over the past five decades. In collecting contemporary art, we focus primarily on the twenty-first century, during which time Brooklyn has become one of the most vibrant centers of cultural production in the world.

The exhibition is organized by Eugenie Tsai, John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art, and Rujeko Hockley, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum.