A panel discussion with the artists who contributed to “Maternal Metaphors: Artists, Mothers, Artwork,” an exhibition that examines the conflicts and passions about motherhood, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at the galleries of Rochester Contemporary, 137 East Ave.
The event, which is co-sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies of the University of Rochester, invites some of the 14 artists to comment on their work. A. Joan Saab, assistant professor of humanities at the Eastman School of Music and in the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies at the University, will moderate. The panel and the exhibition are free and open to the public.
Photography, painting, installation, sculpture, and video in the exhibition provide commentary on the struggles and conflicts that women who are artists face as they deal with the demands of their art, their families, and the dominant culture. The exhibit, which will be on display from April 30 to May 23, offers the work of Monica Bock, Myrel Chernick, Renée Cox, Judy Gelles, Judy Glantzman, Rohesia Hamilton Metcalfe, Mary Kelly, Ellen McMahon, Gail Rebhan, Aura Rosenberg, Shelly Silver, Beth Warshafsky, Sarah Webb, and Marion Wilson. Chernick is curator of the exhibition.
The artists, some of whom have ties to Rochester and to New York City, have exhibited their work around the world. In their introduction, they describe the exhibit as “diverse and provocative work that questions the normative cultural construction of motherhood in our society. We publicly celebrate motherhood to such an extreme that any form of ambivalence . . . is difficult to express.”
Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 30. For more information, contact Rochester Contemporary at (585) 461-2222.