BODIES LUMINOUS ALLOWS WOMEN TO BE SEEN AND CELEBRATED

Top row - Work by Kayla D. Smith, Jennifer Warren and Erin Gleason; bottom - Work by Jacqueline W. Nuzzo

by Harlem Henderson

Bodies Luminous, now showing at Chicago’s Women Made Gallery, highlights the multi-dimensional work of 30 women and non-binary artists. It serves as a much-needed critique of androcentrism, both within and beyond museum-superstructure settings, and assesses its role in defining the aesthetic and social value of visual art. This recontextualization of women’s bodies in contemporary praxis stands integral to the non-profit gallery’s mission statement. 

Bodies Luminous posits beauty as an ascribed concept solidified by historic phallocentrism. This issue contributes to the pervasiveness of bodily objectification, wherein humanity is seen second to aesthetic gratification. A sculpture created by Kinsey Nelson titled Anatomy of a Hooter’s Girl shows a deceased waitress, her macabre placement in a body bag insultingly supplementing a proper burial. The interactive writing accompanying the sculpture, confronts viewers, challenging them to recount a time they contributed to a human being’s objectification. 

Such provocative public inquiry confronts perversity perpetuated by the historic male gaze. The intention being to foster an environment where a woman’s vulnerability is freed from predatory intentionality and public policing. In protest to narratives administering restrictions on beauty, unabashedly, Bodies Luminous provides a voice for women deviating from the canonical definition of acceptability. 

The exhibition’s promotional artwork, an optical illusion of Jacqueline W. Nuzzo, entitled A Critique on Rigidity, deconstructs conformity through reinterpreting anatomical diversity, centering all bodies as deserving acceptance regardless of their appeasement of traditional norms. 

Jennifer Warren’s painting, titled "Arealia” brings a visual focus to the moral posture and grace of Black women whose humanity has systemically been stigmatized within museum institutions throughout history. 

Curated by Madeline McConico, Sarah Peecher, and Ren Buchness, the exhibition necessitates the liberation of women’s bodies and the illumination of their stories. It provides insight and prompts reflection concerning past injustice to foster settings that prioritize healing and collective safety.

The exhibition continues through Saturday, June 20, with a closing reception from 2–4 pm.