“Realms of the Real”

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The four internationally acclaimed artists in “Realms of the Real” conduct extensive historical research, examine the nuances of culture and identity, and explore the boundaries of art and science to create worlds of fantasy and fiction that expand our understanding of ourselves and our world. Taking a playful approach to ambitious performance, video, and sculpture, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson and his community of collaborators create artworks that are equally profound and absurd, searching for answers in timeless cultural forms. From her Los Angeles studio, artist Candice Lin works with materials that range from indigo and cochineal to urine and flesh-eating beetles, investigating their historical and philosophical implications through her richly sensorial installations. Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno collaborates with architects, sociologists, entomologists, arachnids, and more to create immersive works that propose ways of living in greater harmony with one another and our environment. Raised in Nigeria and based in the United States, artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby bends time and space through her intricately layered paintings, navigating the diverse geographies, cultures, and identities she inhabits to depict the complexities of diasporic experience. These four artists expand on the realities of shared history and experience to create fantastical and speculative worlds, offering new possibilities for culture, identity, and the future.