Once Upon A Time: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Contemporary Art

May 25 – August 31, 2014

Francisco X. Mora
Capurecita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood), 2009
Acrylic
Racine Art Museum, The Ruth Miles Memorial Purchase Award from Watercolor Wisconsin 2010
Photography: Francisco X. Mora

Fairy tales can be magical, wondrous, humorous, and frightening. They can also be moralistic and educational, with roots in real life situations and circumstances. Contemporary artists who create fantastical stories and works based on fairy tales use the narrative framework to investigate personal, social, and cultural issues, such as gender roles, ethics, folk and familial traditions, history, politics, the environment, and the complexities of human nature.

Once Upon A Time features artists that use a variety of media and techniques to craft stories that emphasize the human condition through exaggerated, surreal, perplexing, imaginative, or dreamy scenarios that are rooted in the traditions of fairy tales, legends, and myths. These works reflect the imagination of the artists as well as a significant investment of time in making—exemplified here in most cases with laborious craft-based processes such as enameling, glassblowing, and papercutting.

MORE ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Exhibition Gallery Guide (PDF)

Press Room

Artists in the Exhibition

Jessica Calderwood, Emily Cobb, Patty Grazini, Erica-Lynn Huberty, Jerome Karidis, Elsa Mora, Francisco X. Mora, Rachel Rader, Ruth Ann Reese, Bill Reid, Red Weldon Sandlin, Heather Ujiie, and David Walters