The Human Touch: Contemporary Art from the RBC Wealth Management Collection

Throughout history artists have depicted the human form. They have decorated caves with silhouettes of men on the hunt, sculpted bodies in motion, and photographed sentimental scenes of domestic life. The Human Touch: Selections from the RBC Wealth Management Art Collection features forty-six large-scale paintings, prints, works on paper, and photographs that give insight into the human psyche, while helping us to understand the human condition.
The exhibition includes sculptures by the South African artist Claudette Schreuders, Spanish artist Susy Gómez, and John Ahearn from New York City, as well as prints by such famous artists as Jim Dine, Elizabeth Peyton, Roy Lichtenstein, John Baldessari, and Chuck Close. A colorful drawing by Native American Frank Big Bear, Jr., a pastel by Viola Frey from her Fighting Men Series, and José Bedia’s richly symbolic mixed media on paper add some darker reflections on the human spirit. Paintings by Hung Liu, Julia Jacquette, Y. Z. Kami, Willie Birch, Till Freiwald, and T.L. Solien further engage our perceptions of self and other.
Also included are compelling photographs by Nan Goldin, Carrie Mae Weems, Alec Soth, Tiranit Barzilay, Dawoud Bey, and JoAnn Verburg. Some of the most captivating works use photography as a point of departure: Vietnamese artist Dinh Q. Lê mounts color prints onto strips of linen that he then weaves into contrasting images of war and domesticity. Vik Muniz creates a “painting” with chocolate syrup and photographs the result. Many of the artists use mixed media to suggest the complexity of modern life: Tom Sachs, Lezley Saar, Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Kerry James Marshall, and Radcliffe Bailey. Bailey draws from his African heritage to contrast American cultures.
Culled from the approximately 400 artworks in the Collection of RBC Wealth Management, the exhibition reflects the society in which we live. Curator Don McNeil explains, “Despite its obvious associations with realism, figurative art has much in common with the expressionistic aspirations of abstraction. Both, at their cores, help define—and reflect upon—the stories of their time.”