'Creating Identity: Portraits Today' casts modern eye on identity

For years, portraits have yielded a glimpse into the artists' vision as often as captured the subject's soul. Particularly in the 21st century, portraits explore such themes as childhood innocence, loss, gender, race and social inequalities. At the 21c Museum Hotel's new exhibit, Creating Identity: Portraits Today, casts a modern eye on what identity means.

The exhibit boasts more than 70 artworks by 37 artists hailing from 12 countries. The portraits — whether photography, sculpture, painting, video or other art form  —  range from the traditional to the avant garde, some exploring the same subject matter from very different perspectives.

Take the subject of childhood. The treatment varies from American photographer Jock Sturges' idyllic depiction of youth to Dutch graphic designer Ruud van Empel's and German photographer Loretta Lux's mysterious, unattainable innocence. That stands in stark contrast to the works of  Louisville artist Gaela Erwin and Colombian photographer Miguel Ángel Rojas, where the subjects have lost their innocence through suffering and devastating loss.

Many of the works take a fresh look at the Old Masters. For example, Yinka Shonibare's 2008 The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (Europe), a C-print mounted on aluminum, echoes Francisco de Goya's 1797 etching — right down to the quotation on the desk. (Shonibare's is in French, while the original, naturally, is in Spanish.)

Some are cutting edge — literally. Shattered tempered glass and lightning-seared oak create Louisville artist Chris Radtke's Reach, a sculpture that creates the oxymoron of an "abstract" portrait.

The artworks are displayed at street level and in the 21c Museum Hotel's Atrium Gallery. The show is free and open to the public 24 hours a day.

Creating Identity: Portraits Today exhibitions portraits 21c Museum Hotel 21c Museum Chuck Close James Croak Yinka Shonibare Cutup Ben Durham Nathalia Edenmont Ruud van Empel Gaela Erwin Keith Farquhar Pieter Hugo Loretta Lux Sukran Moral Eric Nehr Catherine Opie Adriaan van der Ploeg Miguel Angel Rojas Jock Sturges Nicola Vinci Bill Vuksanovich Albert Watson Carrie Mae Weems