[Face] Value

On view February 6–March 14, 2026

Two black women standing in a field of yellow flowers while holding each other.

This exhibition was curated by graduate students enrolled in the Fall 2025 Curatorial Practicum. Throughout the semester students examined the conventions of portraiture, debating the social hierarchies this tradition reinforces and exploring how these norms could be subverted. From these discussions, they identified three core functions that power the genre and sometimes work at odds: portraits uphold and strengthen tradition, they shift hierarchies and can be used to showcase communities.

While some works present conventional interpretations of portraiture, others challenge or expand the genre. Each student selected and researched artwork in the collection, wrote interpretive labels and contributed to the gallery layout. This exhibition is curated by: Dati Alsaedi, Maya Buffet-Davis, Laila Cook, Tenaya DeWitt, Isis Exum, Sara Gallagher, Andrea Garcia, Ben Grossi, William Herbert Holt III, Jas Joga, Ashley Lamoureux, Bella Malherbe, Rachel Morris, Taylor Moss, Devon Narine-Singh, and Cal Young.

The exhibition and related programming are generously supported by Boulder Student Arts and Cultural Enrichment fees.

Jess Dugan, North America, B. 1986, Kelli and Jen, 2017, photograph, 28 x 22”. Museum Purchase with the Carnegie Fund. Photo by Wes Magyar. 2024.04.01.