Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Inside the Exhibition

Virtual Curator Talk Co-Presented with 92NY

Join Jewish Museum Curator Rebecca Shaykin for an in-depth look at the exhibition Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston co-presented with 92NY.

Curator Rebecca Shaykin highlights both artists’ investigations of the entwined legacies of white supremacy, racism, and antisemitism in the United States in ways that are emotionally raw and darkly humorous. Philip Guston (1913–1980), a fixture of the New York art world who is now one of the most revered painters of the twentieth century, is perhaps best known for his depictions of cartoonish Ku Klux Klansmen, a controversial series he began in the late 1960s as racial tensions roiled across America. His provocative images, which used satire to defy bigotry, resonate with renewed urgency today.

Trenton Doyle Hancock (b. 1974), a multifaceted artist based in Houston, Texas, similarly draws on the language of comics to challenge and comment on the American condition, notably, the pernicious and persistent threat of racism, past and present. In many of Hancock’s recent works, a Black superhero named Torpedoboy, one of his long-standing avatars, meets Guston’s own alter-ego, the Klansman. Hancock confronts his artistic forefather and examines their respective motivations for grappling with white supremacy. Today, amid an unprecedented rise in anti-Black and antisemitic violence, Hancock states, “I wanted to show that hate organizations like the Klan still exist, congregating and operating in plain sight.”

This course takes place live online with an opportunity to interact with the expert. Due to the nature of this course, there will not be a recording available for later viewing.

Tickets: $30 General; $25.50 Jewish Museum members (15% discount)

Become a member today to receive the member discount code and also gain access to discounted tickets to upcoming programs, invitations to members-only events, and other exclusive benefits.

For inquiries, please contact hello@roundtable.org.