Experience works collected by the Ulrich over our 50 years, recontextualized in dynamic and thought-provoking original exhibitions.

Organized by the Ulrich Museum of Art

Curated by Jo Reinert, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

[RE]POSE: Leisure Bodies and Empowered Postures reflects on the reinterpretation and transformation of the well-known art historical theme of the reclining figure, across the 20th and 21st centuries. Typically depicted as an idealized female nude, these images historically have been controlled solely by an elite, white, male gaze. Standing on the shoulders of 20th-century women artists who began reclaiming this posture, contemporary artists now use the convention to engage with concerns of the body, space, and agency, and speak to narratives of identity, including gender, race, and status.

[RE]POSE encourages viewers to think about rest in their own lives, whether physical, mental, or emotional; to acknowledge the power and privilege of leisure; and to question the agency of their own bodies and space.

Featured in this group exhibition are works from the Ulrich permanent collection, as well as special works on loan, including works by David Antonio Cruz, Lalla Essaydi, Barbara Earl Thomas, Dinorá Justice, Zanele Muholi, Ayana V. Jackson, Robert Peterson, and more, alongside works by Moses Soyer, Peggy Bacon, Robert Henri, Xavier Gonzalez, Thomas Hart Benton, and Harry Sternberg, to name a few.

Don’t miss free artist and scholar talks in connection with [RE]POSE, detailed in the Fall Schedule section!

Polk/Wilson Gallery
Amsden Gallery

Organized by the Ulrich Museum of Art

Curated by Jo Reinert, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

As part of the Ulrich’s 50th Anniversary celebration, Dream Machine: Fantasy, Surreality, and Play brings together works from the permanent collection and special loans from around the U.S., for an exciting, interactive experience of the fantastical. Dream Machine explores the way in which artists ideate the subconscious and the notion of surreality, an unsettling illusion of reality, through historical and contemporary lenses, especially at a time when rapidly advancing technology breathes possibility into virtually any reality that we can dream up. A preoccupation with our dreams and nightmares has been demonstrated by artists and writers for centuries, and that commonality creates an inherent connective dialogue between both creators and viewers that transcends time and space.

Dream Machine invites audiences to examine the layers of their realities through works by a diverse group of modern and contemporary artists, that interpret themes of fantasy, play, the surreal, invention, symbols, the natural world, and the metaphysical—afterall, often the surreal is the only way to capture the absurdity of our world, the systems in place within it, and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Audiences will explore Surrealism, Afro-Surrealism, Afrofuturism, and interactive play in the galleries. Visitors also will have the opportunity to see paintings in motion, by using personal devices to open augmented reality animations, created by student and faculty artists from the WSU School of Digital Arts!

Artists featured in Dream Machine include J.C. Fontanive, Eva Kotátková, David Alabo, Nettrice Gaskins, Eric Schmidt, Jules de Balincourt, Kati Horna, Trish Vanosdel, Siebren Versteeg, and more. Don’t miss free artist demonstrations, talks, and community events in connection with Dream Machine, detailed in the Fall Schedule section!

Grafly Gallery

For the second phase of this visitor-centered curatorial experiment, we will be taking you through the process of creating an exhibition. No doubt you have heard of the job of an art curator, but do you know what they do? Their role involves the thoughtful planning, arrangement, and selection of artworks to create narratives that captivate and engage museum visitors. Ulrich Co-Lab invites you to be the curator. Throughout the different sections, you will learn about art exhibitions, research your concept, color, and arrange your selection of artworks using an app specifically created by student and faculty artists from the WSU School of Digital Arts.

Within the Ulrich Co-Lab, you can curate an exhibition that resonates with your own personal vision, drawing from a selection of pieces from our permanent collection. Our aim is to prompt you to reflect on your connection to our region in relationship with the art in our collection.

We are thankful to Emprise Bank for being the lead sponsor of this exhibition.

For more information, please contact:
Brenda Lichman, Curator of Education
Email: brenda.lichman@wichita.edu

Rich with objects from across the globe that explore a variety of subjects, the Ulrich collection holds great potential for engagement. The expanded display spaces in the Dr. Sam and Jacque Kouri Collection Study Center allow us to realize this potential and work with faculty to place selected objects on temporary view in conjunction with specific courses. A seminar instructor might teach one or more class sessions in this space, while those with larger classes might assign students to visit the museum and write about the objects individually. Visitors or groups of community members can also request that specific works be put on display so they can visit and view them.

The Ulrich Museum’s nearly 7,300 works of art are a great resource for teaching and learning. Our education department works closely with faculty and educators to develop curricular resources and provide Visual Thinking Strategies sessions with works of art that connect to course topics. In these discussions, students develop both the confidence and language skills to debate complex ideas with their classmates and at the same time learn to disagree civilly and build on information and ideas from others. We want to expand our outreach to all community members, which includes university faculty, especially those whose disciplines don’t typically connect to art.

In April and May, visiting muralist GLeo (Nathalia Gallego Sanchez) prepared for and painted Dreams, a mural in conjunction with the exhibition Urban Canvas: Exploring Muralism in Wichita. ADELANTE JUNTOS/Forward Together/The Duerksen Amphitheater Mural Project was unveiled to the public and university community at a pre-Cinco de Mayo event, May 3 at the amphitheater. A crowd of 250 students, community members, and art enthusiasts enjoyed entertainment by Mayberry Middle School Mariachi Band and Raices De Mi Tierra Ballet Folklorico, as well as speakers including WSU President Rick Muma.

ADELANTE JUNTOS/Forward Together/The Duerksen Amphitheater Mural Project, was directed by the Ulrich Museum of Art and Armando Minjárez with support from Wichita State University’s Office of Hispanic Initiatives, Student Government Association, Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO), Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of the President and the Office of Strategic Communications.

Recent additions to the Ulrich permanent collection include works that demonstrate inventive and boundary-pushing engagement with the digital era’s rapidly evolving new technologies. In these cases, the employment of this tech in artmaking is not necessarily in service or support of itself; but rather these are works that keenly interrogate the relationship between humans and such technology, including their own connection to it.

The conceptual work of New York-based artist Israel Lund (American, b. 1980) is the product of a uniquely self-referential process entirely reliant upon the superfluous use of devices, illustrated in the Ulrich’s new acquisition, Untitled (2012). Lund uses his iPhone to capture photos of his own past work or found images on a computer screen. He then places those images through a PDF-making app, the result of which is silkscreened onto canvas, rendering finished images completely over-processed, fragmented, “low-resolution,” and indecipherable—yet familiar, like residual echoes of our analog days.

Siebren Versteeg (American, b. 1971) occupies a different lane, though he moves in the same direction and similarly critiques humanity’s (and The Humanities’) relationship with new technology. The Ulrich has a history of exhibiting and acquiring work by important contemporary artists early in their careers, and as such, hosted a high-profile solo exhibition of Verteeg’s video works in 2004 (History and Being Here) and acquired his video piece CC (2003) in 2005. His digital collage, Diptych_1031 (2009), acquired by the Ulrich in April, demonstrates the artist’s lifelong interest and impulse to manipulate image systems in our virtual spaces, placing in frenzied flux definitions of creation and generation, art and technology. He builds intricate programs that use artificial intelligence to run image searches and automatically collage and generate brushstrokes, depending on parameters that he establishes.

Part of Versteeg’s diptych questions the authenticity of art-making itself and reconsiders the idea of the artist’s hand. Although the piece predates our current AI advancements, the concept and process behind it align so closely with artificial intelligence that it can be interpreted as a predecessor of sorts. See this piece on view at the Ulrich beginning August 26th, as part of the exhibition, Dream Machine: Fantasy, Surreality, and Play.

In April of this year, the 87th and 88th additions to the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection were erected atop the hill on the north side of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center Amphitheater. Artist Doug Coffin was commissioned to create two new works from his “Spirit Totem” Project specifically for the WSU campus. The Project was conceived forty years ago as a symbol of peace and cooperation among nations, with the artist’s inspiration deriving from the totems of the Northwest.

Sun and Moon shine brightly in this highly visible location and breathe new life and energy to the site. The gold and silver disks hover 18 ½ feet above the ground, supported by thin steel structures painted in two variations of vibrant blue. Every element of the sculptures contains symbolic meaning. Coffin has said, “my personal artistic challenge has been to invoke and respect the spiritual intentions and sensibilities of totems … to strive for images that live in the mind long after the reality is gone.” The Sun and Moon represent the metaphysical duality of male and female energies, whereas the blue mirrors the fantastic range of blue sky. A red vertical arrow on each totem is the Heart Line, or the life blood source from Mother Earth and in all living things. The Four Horizontal Elements on the Moon Totem represent the four phases of life: Birth, Coming of Age, Maturity and Death. The Three Horizonal Elements on the Sun Totem represent Time: Past, Present and Future. The Four-Pointed Stars embellishing the backside of each totem are inspired by the hope regarded in the morning star and the spiritual power of historic Ghost Dance garments.

Coffin hails from Lawrence, Kansas, where his father was a beloved athletic coach at what is today the Haskell Indian Nations University and at the time was a high school and vocational school for Native American students. He also spent time on the nearby Potawatomi reservation where he still maintains connections today. Coffin holds a BFA from the University of Kansas and an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has taught art courses at Fort Wright College in Spokane, Washington, and after moving permanently to New Mexico, at the College of Santa Fe and the Institute of American Indian Arts. Coffin’s work is in museums and private collections in Europe, Africa, Latin America and throughout the U.S., including those installed on the campus of Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.

In the 1990s, during the Clinton administration, one of his sculptures was temporarily installed on the grounds of the White House. Coffin is the first Native American artist (Potowatomi and Creek) represented in the Outdoor Sculpture Collection. He has specialized in large-scale outdoor sculpture, although his output includes smaller-scale mixed media sculptures, paintings, and prints. A formal dedication of these custom and iconic creations, along with an artist talk, will take place in September.

U50 imagines the future of Ulrich exhibitions, offering unique encounters with contemporary artists never before exhibited in Wichita.

Polk/Wilson Gallery

Organized by the Ulrich Museum of Art

Curated by Jo Reinert, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

Contemporary American artist Devan Shimoyama’s work playfully and poignantly dismantles social conventions by representing the complexities of race, gender, and sexuality with compelling, intimate images. Shimoyama pictures the Black American experience and the queer experience as fantastical and ornate, using rich textures, pop-culture references, and decorative materials (an homage to both drag performance and churchgoers of his childhood), while interpreting at great depths ideas of vulnerability and transformation.

<p">Rituals contextualizes Shimoyama’s works as devotional objects, drawing multilayered parallels to historical religious imagery, such as Byzantine icons, Baroque altarpieces, and Renaissance chapel commissions, and situating these works within the contemporary landscape as today’s sacred objects and devotional icons. With neon colors, rhinestones, sequins, feathers, glitter, and fabrics, Shimoyama builds alternative dream worlds that serve simultaneously as counterpoint, echo, and interrogation of the realities around us, which, despite his use of such joyful materials and colors, are not always good experiences. There is an inherent spirituality within these environments and their motifs, that calls viewers to reflection and new understandings.

Rituals will bring together pieces from private and institutional collections, from multiple bodies of Shimoyama’s work, including the Tarot series, the Barbershop series, drag self-portraits, mythologies, transformation sequences, portraiture, and self-portraiture.

Special thanks to David De Buck Gallery, Kavi Gupta Gallery, the Bill and Christy Gautreaux Collection, and the private lenders involved, for their support of this exhibition.

A fully illustrated exhibition catalog will be published, including essays by Vivian Zavataro, Ulrich Executive and Creative Director; and Elizabeth Lisot-Nelson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Art History, University of Texas at Tyler; a discussion between Devan Shimoyama and Jo Reinert, Ulrich Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and 8 original works of creative writing contributed by writers from across the United States.

January 23 - June 14, 2025

Amsden Gallery

Organized by the Ulrich Museum of Art

Curated by James Porter, Exhibition Design and Production Manager

A message from Jim Riswold:

The John Ford death mask would like to say, “Death masks are fascinating but slightly haunting relics from an age before photos. Until cameras rendered them redundant, it was common for notable people to have metal, wax or plaster applied to their face when they had died, creating a ‘death mask.’”

The motivation behind the masks morphed with time. It was a way for the living to reconnect with the past or to memorialize the dead. Throughout history, the method of creating death masks remained the same. The face of the corpse would be lubricated or protected in gauze before clay or wax was applied to make an imprint of the deceased’s features. After the material dried, it was removed, and the result was a mask with the true features of that person.

Death masks were taken not only of deceased royalty and nobility, but also of eminent persons—composers, dramaturges, military and political leaders, philosophers, poets, and scientists, such as Dante Alighieri, Ludwig van Beethoven, Napoleon Bonaparte, Frédéric Chopin, and Oliver Cromwell. In ancient Rome, death masks were often used in making marble sculpture portraits, busts, or engravings of the deceased.

In other cultures, a death mask may be a funeral mask, an image placed on the face of the deceased before burial rites, and normally buried with them. The best known of these are the masks used in ancient Egypt as part of the mummification process, such as Tutankhamun’s mask, and those from Mycenaean Greece such as The Mask of Agamemnon.

The popularity of death masks started to decline in the late 19th century and early 20th century. When Queen Victoria died her grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, tried to have a death mask made for her, but was stopped by members of her British family who knew how much she disliked them. The invention of photography has made death masks unnecessary for their primary purposes in western cultures.

January 23 - June 12, 2025

Grafly Gallery

The third phase of the Ulrich Co-Lab is titled Homegrown. In collaboration with Harvester Arts, we will select ten local artists to create artworks inspired by pieces in our permanent collection. Our local talent will be showcased alongside beloved pieces from our collection, creating a dynamic dialogue between past and present. These artists will base their response piece on two works from the Ulrich’s permanent collection.

Each artwork created for Homegrown will offer a fresh perspective, shedding light on familiar pieces, while adding contemporary and diverse voices to the museum. You will have the opportunity to directly engage with the exhibition by voting for your favorite objects. Your input will play a pivotal role in shaping the conversation within this curatorial experiment.

We are thankful to Emprise Bank for being the lead sponsor of this exhibition.

Our appreciation to the donors for their generous support.

Director’s Circle

• Emprise Bank
• Sondra Langel
• Mike & Dee Michaelis

Presenter

• Anna Anderson & Chris Shank
• Don & Lora Barry
• Martin & Ann Bauer
• From the Dr. Sam Kouri Family in memory of Jacque Kouri
• Dr. Sam Kouri
• Lee & Ron Starkel
• Peri Widener

Leader

• Saroj Arab
• Charlie Baker
• Jim & Ruthie Gillespie
• Dr. George & Eleanor Lucas
• Errol & Suzanne Luginbill
• Mosby Lincoln Foundation
• Bruce & Linda Schreck

Stakeholder

• Dr. John & Nancy Brammer
• CM Copple Family – In celebration of Ruth Ann Forsberg Martin
• Barry & Paula Downing Foundation
• Chris & Genevieve Farha
• Dr. Harold & Evelyn Gregg
• Sonia Greteman & Chris Brunner
• Lou & Terry Heldman
• Gayle & Doug Malone
• Jane McHugh
• Derek Morgan & Dr. V. Kaye Monk-Morgan
• Stev Overstreet
• Donna & Martin Perline
• Dwayne & Dottie Shannon Foundation
• Don & Ellie Skokan
• Craig & Laura Thompson

Associate

• Justin & Mica Elkouri
• Dr. Alan & Sharon Fearey
• Dr. H. Guy & Carol Glidden
• Elizabeth & Don King
• David & Rynthia Mitchell
• Keith Pickus & Deirdre O’Farrell
• Janel Razook

Partner

• Berry Foundation
• Bikki Bevelhymer & Conor Donnelly
• Drs. James D. Blakemore & Rebecca Whelan
• Gridley Family Foundation
• Tracy Hoover & Curt D. Gridley
• Dr. Shirley Lefever & Steve Berry
• Patricia McDonnell & Larry Schwarm
• Rick Muma & Rick Case
• Dr. Anthony & Rachel Muscat
• Jan Twomey
• Jeff & Janice Van Sickle

Friend

• Pam Bjork
• Eric Cale & Sarah Bagby
• Jim & Sara Farley
• Tom & Terry Johnson
• Deb McArthur & Mary Singleton
• Dr. Patrick P. & Katherine McCoy
• Kate Nicholson
• Teresa Veazey

The Ulrich Mighty Docent Team is an extraordinary and vibrant group of 13 dedicated volunteers. Their enthusiasm is palpable as they tirelessly strive to engage students of all ages, from college to K-12. We are excited to announce that this year we have already led tours for more than 3,000 students. Our team has transformed the museum into a delightful and dynamic space where students can explore and, most importantly, share their ideas.

Our mission is to ignite curiosity, foster engagement, and spread joy!

• To spark curiosity, we develop essential questions for our exhibitions and artworks in the Ulrich Collection.
• We enhance engagement through interactive activities such as movement-based tours, augmented reality experiences, and hands-on art projects. Sketching sessions in the museum teach students the art of observation, making every visit a memorable learning experience.
• Joy permeates all our interactions while we uncover secret discoveries within the art.

We are honored to work with the Ulrich Mighty Docent Team. Together, we joyfully learn from our vibrant community of students and create unforgettable experiences for all who visit.

Thank you so much to our dedicated team of docent educators:

Mat Buckingham
Denise Davis
Jim Farley
Megan Matzke
Deb McArthur
Karen McPhee
Lynda Medlock
Wilma Moore Black
Rachel Muscat
Donald Rogus
Neva Thiessen
Laura Thompson
Randy Treece

The Ulrich Alliance is a group of art enthusiasts who volunteer their time and talents at the Ulrich Museum. Ulrich Alliance Volunteers include Docents, Students, Educators, and our art curious community.

Join this ever-growing group of volunteers under the leadership of the Alliance Steering Committee who work to engage the community in meaningful ways.

We offer volunteer opportunities to embrace your unique talents, including:

• The Alliance Scholarship Committee which awards $1,000 each to a WSU graduate and undergraduate art student.
• Planning and executing educational programs and community experiences.
• Working with Ulrich staff to create memorable events that showcase our exhibitions with parties, community events, and artists visits.
• Leading art education tours for students and community members as a docent.
• Chances for students to test-drive their careers in events, design, and museums.

Make friends in the Wichita creative community, use your talents to help the Ulrich engage new art fans, and share your passion for contemporary and modern art. Become an Ulrich Alliance Volunteer!

Fill out this form and apply!

Questions? Email Brenda.Lichman@wichita.edu or Ann.Keefer@wichita.edu

$500+
June 2023 - June 2024

• Anonymous Donor*
• Art Bridges*
• Saroj Arab*
• Don & Lora Barry*
• Pam Bjork
• City of Wichita*
• C.M. Copple Family
• Gordon W. Evans Charitable Trust
• Sara & Jim Farley
• Laurie A. Finucane
• Trish Higgins
• KMUW-FM*
• National Endowment for the Arts*
• Stev Overstreet*
• School of Art, Design & Creative Industries
• Dot Shannon*
• Don & Ellie Skokan
• Lee & Ron Starkel
• Keith & Georgia Stevens
• Story Corps
• Story Time Village
• Craig & Laura Thompson
• Watermark Books & Café
• Wichita Marriott*
• WSU Barton School of Business
• WSU College of Engineering
• WSU English Department
• WSU School of Digital Arts
• Wichita State University*
• WSU Student Government Association*

Dr. Sam & Jacque Kouri
Collection Study Center

Benefactor:

• Dr. Sam & Jacque Kouri

Lead Support:

• Don & Lora Barry
• Mike & Dee Michaelis

Founding Support:

• Lee & Ron Starkel

Generous Individual Support:

• Ann & Martin Bauer
• Bill, Julie, & Kate Nicholson
• The Wilson Foundation
• Saroj Arab
• Anna Anderson & Chris Shank
• John & Nancy Brammer
• Keith & Georgia Stevens

The way you pose isn’t just sitting…we’re performing and being extra, and for me that’s the radical part, that’s the joy of being non-conforming and not falling into rules.

David Antonio Cruz

featured in [RE]POSE: Leisure Bodies and Empowered Postures.