Rory Padeken, curator
May 26, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our ways of life. Nation-states have all but sealed their borders. Global air travel is nearly at a standstill. Schools and non-essential businesses have closed. Favorite pastimes have been indefinitely postponed or cancelled. Many of us are sheltering in place to help curb the spread of the virus. Social distancing is the new normal.

In the United States, over 89,000 people* have died of causes related to the 2019 novel coronavirus, not including those whose deaths have gone unreported. More than 23 million Americans have lost their jobs.** Countless essential workers—many of whom are women and people of color—are caring for the sick and keeping parts of our economy afloat at the risk of their own lives and livelihoods. Public fear and misinformation about the virus have led to an increase in anti-Asian racism, xenophobia, and scapegoating. We are in a dire situation.

I believe, however, that not all is lost. Take for instance the positive effects this time has had on the environment. Or the ways in which strangers have grocery shopped and sewn homemade masks for our most vulnerable. Turning to what is good does not mean forgetting what is bad. Instead it should always come with the realization that what is good should be for all of us. Much can be gained, learned, and redeemed in our time together apart.

As a curator of modern and contemporary art, I look to artists in the present and from the past whose artworks can reveal what is relevant and urgent at a given moment. Artists are always one step ahead of the pulse. In looking back on SJMA’s recent exhibition history, I have selected four shows that deeply resonant with our contemporary period of uncertainty, addressing issues of labor rights and income inequality, housing insecurity, and humanity’s precarious relationship with the natural world.

Let us reflect on how we as a nation can come together to shape a more just, equitable society—a society that we all want to live in—by taking a deeper look at: