The instinctual drive to creatively capture the body in all its forms has existed for thousands of years. It is a drive that has rooted itself at the very core of our humanity.

From ancient Greek kouroi to contemporary portraiture, the human body has served as the artist’s most familiar yet most elusive subject. Even the mid-century abstract expressionists attempted to convey the complexities of thought and emotion – what makes humans human – using their own bodies as translators.

The Anita Shapolsky Gallery is pleased to present a cross-cultural and transhistorical exploration of the body in art. “Super Bodies” moves beyond our typical focus on abstract expressionist paintings to exhibit art from a potpourri of artists, periods, countries, and media that exemplifies the ever-present drive to represent the body in both the abstract and the figurative.