BOSTON, MA.- The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, presents the first exhibition to consider a recent history of artists' representations of other artists—whether peers, colleagues, or idols. Likeness: Portraits of Artists by Other Artists features over 50 visually striking and conceptually diverse works in a range of mediums. Likeness will be on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art through May 1, 2005.

"This exhibition brings together work by some of the most important artists of our time," says Jill Medvedow, James Sachs Plaut Director of the ICA, "and offers an intimate and complex perspective on the relationship between artist and subject."

Likeness investigates the various ways artists have re-imagined exactly what constitutes a portrait. Reflecting a dialogue in which the identities and status of both artist and subject are interrelated, these works reveal the intimate dramas of the art world: the private relationships that typically exist beyond public scrutiny. Presenting over fifty paintings, drawings, photographs, and several works in other media, Likeness embraces a variety of approaches to portraiture made during the past three decades by a loose network of artists active in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, and elsewhere.

Through works such as Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph of Louise Bourgeois, Elizabeth Peyton's painting of David Hockney, or Deborah Kass' silkscreen of Cindy Sherman as Liza Minelli, the exhibition seeks to reveal the social dynamics of certain recent contemporary art milieus. In addition to conventional approaches to portraiture, the works in Likeness include experimental interpretations of the genre, such as Felix Gonzalez-Torres' text-based 1991 portrait, which lists decisive personal events in the life of his friend Julie Ault.

"Andy Warhol first promoted the concept that artists are celebrities over forty years ago,"
says Bennett Simpson, Associate Curator at the ICA. "This exhibition takes it a step further by providing a glimpse into the social circles of contemporary artists, examining how they see themselves and each other."

The artists in the exhibition include Matthew Antezzo, Roy Arden, David Armstrong, AA Bronson, Edgar Bryan, Heather Cantrell, Chuck Close, Anne Collier, Sam Durant, Nan Goldin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Richard Hamilton, Peter Hujar, Deborah Kass, Mike Kelley, Richard Kern, Bruce La Bruce, Sean Landers, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jonathan Meese, Richard Misrach, Dave Muller, Paul Noble, Julian Opie, Elizabeth Peyton, Richard Prince, David Robbins, Wolfgang Tillmans, James Welling, and Neil Winokur.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 72-page catalogue with 38 illustrations, co-published by CCA Wattis Institute and Independent Curators International. The catalogue includes essays by exhibition curator Matthew Higgs, artist David Robbins, and San Francisco writer Kevin Killian and is available in the ICA Bookstore.

The exhibition Likeness: Portraits of Artists by Other Artists is co-organized by CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, and Independent Curators International (ICI), New York, and circulated by ICI. The guest curator is Matthew Higgs. The exhibition and tour is made possible, in part, by an in-kind donation from Philips Electronics North America.