Misericordia

The exhibition brings together Masters from the Renaissance and work by contemporary artists. It juxtaposes 15th to 17th Century Old Masters with performance video from the 1970s and contemporary artworks. The works examine the treatment of Mercy as represented from devotional paintings to the use of the artist's body as a metaphor for the suffering of humankind in contemporary works. It emphasizes how these artists explore pain, fear and penance, in the sense that today we either fail to rejoice in God's Mercy or that we are too occupied with personal matters to be merciful towards others. In the contemporary works we might not be immediately aware of Mercy's presence. But Mercy can be found, especially in its absence, as a call to action for our society to change. Ultimately, these works demand that society be more merciful, stop suffering, and help those left outside. These artists beg the individual to come forward out of the mass, be responsible, and move to action. Mercy is an individually realized choice. Works by the artists Marina Abramović, Joseph Beuys, Monica Bonvicini, Louise Bourgeois, Chris Burden, James Lee Byars, Lucio Fontana, Terence Koh, Anders Krisár, Giovanni di Marco, Jonathan Meese, Giovanni Battista Naldini, Olaf Nicolai, Jen DeNike, Angel Otero, Antonio di Pietro, Sterling Ruby, Katharina Sieverding, Bill Viola, and xhafabdessemed (Sislej Xhafa and Adel Abdessemed) will assess how the artistic expression of Mercy is demonstrated, has transitioned, vanished, and in some cases persevered and reappeared through centuries and multiple artistic mediums. The gallery is especially pleased to have three exceptional works by Emile Antoine-Bourdelle, Felice Ficherelli and Alessandro Gherardini on loan from the Haukohl Family Collection, a world-class private collection based in Houston, Texas. It is the largest private collection of Florentine painting in America.