By Sarah DeGeorge
For the first four Thursdays of November, 21c Museum Hotel is offering free guided art tours of “Fragile Figures: Beings and Time.” Locals and travelers alike should take advantage of the opportunity to get a deeper look at the exhibit before it ends next month.
Curated by Museum Director Alice Gray Stites, the exhibit features artwork that “illuminates the complexity of identity, revealing intersections between vulnerability and power in portraiture.” The work of contemporary artists like Nicolas Sanchez, Nate Lewis, Hassan Hajjaj, and Ana Teresa Fernandez is on display throughout the hotel lobby.
The artists were focused on representing how portraits can capture the way identities are constructed and projected in the modern world. This may be on an individual or cultural level, but either way, they also suggest that time is cyclical by referencing past artistic and social movements in relation to relevant issues in today’s world.
The tours are given by Museum Manager Hunter Kissel. He directed the tour’s attention to the work of Titus Kaphar, who’s work is Kissel’s favorite. In projects like “The Jerome Project,” Kaphar confronts historical representations of Black people and creates art that calls attention to their untold stories.
21c was created for the purpose of sharing art like Kaphar’s with the local community. The name originates from 21st century because the museum hotel only displays contemporary art from 2000 to the present, some of which includes local art.
Established in Louisville in 2006 by Laura Brown and Steve Wilson, 21c was one of the few engaging spaces in Downtown Louisville at the time. They concentrated on reviving the area by making a space that offers free art and emphasizes sustainability.
Featured are rotating exhibits that are switched out periodically, like “Fragile Figures,” as well as permanent site-specific art like “The Statue of David” replica on Main St. The lobby is kept open 24/7 so that anyone can enjoy the artwork at any time.
Built inside a repurposed 19th-century warehouse, the building also features a farm-to-table restaurant named Proof on Main. Ingredients are sourced from the region’s farmers and put a spin on cuisine of the Ohio River Valley. The restaurant is adjacent to the gallery and guests are free to pop in and out as desired.
On the upper levels, there are 10 types of hotel rooms with a variety of layouts and styles. They all contain free wifi, luxurious bedding, custom furniture, and original artwork. Some rooms even have original warehouse features like exposed brick.
The structure was designed by TenBerke for which they won numerous awards. Louisville was the first location built out of a total of eight; there are two in Kentucky, two in Missouri, and one in Ohio, Illinois, Arkansas and North Carolina. Louisville has double the amount of permanent installations of any other location.
One of those permanent installations is “Text Rain” by Camille Utterback and Romy Achituv. Located on the first floor, it is an interactive video with letters that form lines from the poem “Talk, You.” by Evan Zimroth.
“I love showing off this place to my friends from out of town,” said one local who had just taken photos under the text. “We love art and free things, so 21c is just a really special place,” she said.
Though “Text Rain” is there to stay, “Fragile Figures” only has a month left in Louisville. The exhibit is open any day and time, but on Thursday, Nov. 9th, 16th, and 23rd from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Hunter Kissel will be offering more free tours.
