Feature image: Courtesy of Rochester Art Center
Co-Curated by: Zoe Cinel & LaVanda Mireles
Submitted
Featured artists: Leslie Barlow, Marra Evans, Sarah Faris, Jessalyn Finch, Ni-Ka Ford, Life Drawing for the End of the World, Lucia Garces, May Ling Kopecky, Marianne Petit, Steven Premo, Jenny Schmid, Christopher Selleck, Dan Thompson, Megan Vossler, Jess Kiel-Wornson
Exhibition on view: Saturday, May 16, 2026 – January 31, 2027
Artist Spotlight Tour with Megan Vossler: Sunday, June 14, 2026
Reception: Saturday, August 22, 2026, 1:00 – 3:00 PM | Free
Figurative drawing workshop: led by Megan Vossler (in the Gallery): June 28, 2026, 10 AM – 12 PM
Rochester, MN – “Did you ever ask yourself, of all the parts that make that man, which one holds the souls?” In the 2025 Frankenstein movie directed by Guillermo del Toro, a concerned William asks this existential question to his brother, Doctor Victor Frankenstein. William’s question refers to the “Creature,” a resurrected being his brother brought back to life by patching together limbs and body parts of soldiers, criminals, and other “unknown” individuals.
In the movie, Dr. Frankenstein evades William’s question, but this recent take on Mary Shelley’s famous novel still highlights some of the contradictions embedded in the history of medicine and medical illustration. It nods at the power structures that have always existed within the relationships between doctor and patients, surgeon and artists, artists and subject, bringing up questions like: who did the bodies that are immortalized into famous medical atlases still used today in medical education belong to? How did they end up being subjects of representation? Through consensual offering or extraction? Does the noble goal of curing justify the means through which medical progress occurs? If everybody – and body part – has a soul, can representation be done with care?
This exhibition grapples with this timely debate around the ethics of representation within the artistic fields that pride themselves on depicting the human body closely and with attention: medical illustration, figurative drawing, and portraiture, and how these fields have struggled to be inclusive and ethically center diverse perspectives. By bringing together fifteen artists who work regionally, nationally, and internationally in these fields, Forms of Care: The Art of Representing the Body proposes contemporary pathways for “careful” representation. Working in a variety of 2D and 3D media – etchings, charcoal, photography, oil painting, digital illustration, 3D sculpting, and pop-up books, to mention a few – these artists create work that is deeply in conversation and in celebration of the bodies that they portray: either their own or the bodies of beloved relatives and community members.
The exhibition is implemented by programs, interactive artworks, and participatory educational activities present in the gallery to directly engage visitors’ bodies. At the center of the gallery is an accessible space designated for figurative drawing that encourages visitors to literally step into the model’s shoes and experience what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Throughout the run of the exhibition, the space will be activated by workshops and other asynchronous learning opportunities.
Exhibition page: https://www.rochesterartcenter.org/exhibition/forms-of-care
About the Curators
Zoe Cinel is the Curator at the Rochester Art Center, an interdisciplinary artist and immigrant living and working on Dakota and Ojibwe Mni Sota Makoce land. Through art and organizing, they strive to produce social change.
LaVanda Mireles is Co-Curator of Forms of Care and assists the Curatorial and Programs teams at the Rochester Art Center. She is a Visual Artist whose work explores interconnectedness and themes surrounding the human condition.
About Rochester Art Center
Rochester Art Center is a museum of contemporary art located along the Zumbro River in the heart of historic downtown Rochester, MN. Founded in 1946, the Art Center hosts an ongoing schedule of exhibitions of work by local, regional, national, and international artists; dynamic educational programs for all ages; and an array of community partnerships and visitor engagement initiatives. Through world-class exhibitions and programs, the Art Center presents a welcoming, integrated, and diverse experience that encourages questioning, creativity, and critical thinking.
Contact
Kalianne Morrison, Advancement Director | kmorrison@rochesterartcenter.org