What is Seen and Unseen: Mapping South Asian American Art in Chicago

Curated by Shelly Bahl, What is Seen and Unseen: Mapping South Asian American Art in Chicago is a ground-breaking exhibition documenting this amorphous history of art production and presentation. This is the first comprehensive exhibition to map and disseminate this vital chapter of Chicago’s art history.

The survey comprises two parallel exhibitions: Shadows Dance Within the Archives, an archival exhibition of over 125 years of under-documented exhibition and cultural history, and Are Shadow Bodies Electric?, a thematic exhibition featuring 8 contemporary artists who are creating surreal and/or unclassified shadow bodies that exist outside of time, place and space.

The exhibition narrative begins with colonial-era perspectives, including those reflected in documentation from the Indian Pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition and the Indian delegation at the World’s Parliament of Religions, both held in conjunction in 1893, in Chicago. A notable highlight of What is Seen and Unseen is the documentation from Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy’s earliest known solo exhibition in 1920, which has long been forgotten.

From this point, What is Seen and Unseen examines the growing interest in and acquisition of Asian antiquities in the United States in the 1920s-40s, how this relates to the bigger story of Orientalism and modern art, and why select permutations of this phenomenon were presented in Chicago’s cultural institutions.

The exhibition also acknowledges the influence of South Asian art, literature, film, performing arts, and spirituality on American counterculture movements from the early 1900s to the 1980s, including the Theosophical Society, Tagore Circle, Beat Generation, 1967s Summer of Love and its legacy, and underscores how these art forms continue to mark Chicago’s cultural landscape.

Lastly, What is Seen and Unseen maps a route through thecontemporary era, from the 1990’s to today. Chicago has a 30+ year history of contemporary exhibitions and public programs that have featured South Asian American artists, and this section of the exhibition focuses on senior, mid-career, and emerging artists who have made Chicago home and are reshaping the art and life of the city.

While this exhibition endeavours to offer a comprehensive portrayal of the South Asian American art experience, critical silences, gaps, and fractures exist in the historical record. This project will hopefully encourage additional efforts at mapping and contextualizing these under-documented South Asian American art histories in Chicago and across the United States.

A series of public presentations and a symposium will be held to complement this exhibition.

The exhibition is part of the Terra Foundation’s Art Design Chicago 2024, a citywide collaboration that highlights Chicago’s artistic heritage and creative communities. This is the first comprehensive exhibition to map and disseminate this vital chapter of Chicago’s art history.