Selections from the Collection - Curated by Critical and Curatorial Studies

Caprices: Wit & Whimsy

Schneider Hall Galleries
On View: April 26 - August 3, 2018
Reception: April 26, 5-7p.m.

The Hite Art Institute is pleased to present an exhibition from the University of Louisville’s print collection. Curated by students in the Critical and Curatorial Studies II class, “Caprices: Wit & Whimsy” transforms the white cube gallery into a space that invites laughter. The humor framed within this show is meant to break that invisible barrier one crosses when entering the gallery; the prints welcome candid, reflexive responses. Since the impact of visual humor is instantaneous, and can be undermined by over-explanation or analysis, this exhibition aims to allow for both instant gratification and complex reading.

A “caprice” is a sudden, impulsive, unpredictable action or condition, a disposition to do things impulsively. Synonymous with “whimsy,” a caprice surprises with its irrational or unpredictable idea or fantastic turn of mind. Like a caprice, humor surprises. Artwork on view includes elements of the grotesque, the whimsical, the ironic, and the childish to comprise an exhibition that is strategically eclectic.

“Caprices: Wit & Whimsy” includes work by Édouard Manet, Francisco Goya, Tom Huck, Bob Lockhart, Honoré Daumier, Mel Ramos, Cima Katz, among others, and was curated by Diana Dillman, Alexis Doerr, Adelaide McComb, Jessica Schumacher, Layne Wegenast, and Stephanie Wise.

 Caprices: Wit & Whimsy is on view April 26-August 3, 2018