Painting of two nude young men--one dark-skinned, the other light-skinned. They relax on a bed and affectionately cuddle with a small white dog. Brushwork is loose and palette is muted. — Salman Toor, *Two Boys with a Dog*. Museum purchase: gift of Avo Samuelian and Hector Manuel Gonzalez

Any distance between us

July 17, 2021 - March 13, 2022

Introduction

This exhibition explores the power and significance of intimate relationships in a selection of artworks made between 1954 and 2021. From quiet, unassuming expressions of affection to the openly erotic, these works foreground the relationships between artists and their subjects. By presenting their lives, loves, and chosen families, these artists reveal and articulate private worlds of vulnerability, tenderness, and desire.

Any distance between us recognizes the extraordinary importance of all expressions of intimacy as fundamental and equal. Charged with memories of relationships current and past, many of these objects and texts are significant statements of resistance and affirmation for LGBTQ+ artists and artists of color, reflecting 75 years of cultural shifts in representations of sexual orientation, gender identity, class, and race. Shaped by numerous historical events and political movements of the time, these works reflect or transform our understandings of how we become close to and care for one another.

-Stephen Truax, RISD BFA Painting, 2007 and Dominic Molon, Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art

Dominic Molon