A print made up of Greek pottery shards colored blue, orange, green, and tan. Each shard shows a piece of a different scene or pattern and all of the shards fit together to make the print.

Fantasy, Myth, Legend

Imagining the Past in Works on Paper since 1750

December 16, 2023 - June 2, 2024

Museum Galleries

About

This exhibition explores how artists from the 1700s to today have engaged with the cultural legacy of prehistoric, ancient, and medieval Western European history. Thirty prints, drawings, and photos offer a range of perspectives on how imagining the past becomes a tool for shaping the present. Fantasy, Myth, Legend confronts how these imagined depictions have been used to justify colonialism, promote ideas of white supremacy, and reinforce gender norms. The exhibition also highlights work by contemporary artists who have engaged with these historical eras to critique and dismantle the power structures behind them.

Curated by Sarah Mirseyedi, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Prints, Drawings & Photographs, and Regina Noto, Brown PhD Candidate, History of Art and Architecture

RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors.