SEATTLE, WA.- This fall/winter, the Henry at the University of Washington presents a dynamic series of exhibitions featuring contemporary artists who explore themes of identity, perception, and agency. A.K. Burns’s What is Perverse is Liquid investigates feminist and queer perspectives through her Negative Space series, while Lucy Kim’s Mutant Optics employs innovative bioengineering techniques to examine racial perception. Tala Madani’s Be Flat uses dark humor to challenge societal norms, and Christine Sun Kim’s Ghost(ed) Notes addresses the politics of sound and visibility. Additionally, focused exhibitions from the collection highlight the transformative nature of light and the human form, offering a rich exploration of artistic expression.

A.K. Burns: What is Perverse is Liquid
Through May 4, 2025

A.K. Burns’s exhibition at the Henry focuses on her Negative Space series (2015–23), which examines life at the edges of society and ecological vulnerability through video installations. Inspired by science fiction, this work addresses hierarchies of power and agency, employing “negative space” to symbolize transformation from marginalized viewpoints. The exhibition features three immersive video works—Living Room (2017), Leave No Trace (2019), and What is Perverse is Liquid (2023)—alongside wall-based works and sculpture that explore the interconnected relationships between human bodies, landscapes, and water.

Lucy Kim: Mutant Optics
Through February 2, 2025

Lucy Kim’s Mutant Optics features new work created through an experimental printing process that uses genetically modified bacteria to produce melanin directly on paper. These prints delve into the intersections of visual aesthetics, bioengineering, and racial perception. The exhibition presents complex, layered images of vanilla plants, linking their cultivation to histories of colonialism and race. Blurring the lines between legibility and recognition, Mutant Optics invites viewers to question how images are both constructed and perceived.

Tala Madani: Be Flat
Through August 17, 2025

Be Flat is Tala Madani’s debut solo exhibition in Washington State, showcasing recent and newly commissioned works that investigate how symbols, language, and mark-making impact power dynamics and agency. Known for her paintings that reflect life’s complexities, Madani portrays human figures in vulnerable and humorous situations, set within surreal, cinematic spaces. The exhibition features blackboard and Film Fall paintings, animations, and satirical depictions of father figures in sports, critiquing traditional masculinity. Visitors are invited to experience Madani’s fantastical characters while questioning identity and power.

Exterior mural—Christine Sun Kim: Ghost(ed) Notes
Through June 2025

Christine Sun Kim’s Ghost(ed) Notes is a mural installation on the Henry’s east façade that examines the political and social dimensions of sound. Incorporating American Sign Language, musical notation, and graphic symbols, Kim reflects on non-verbal communication and social power. Ghost(ed) Notes uses musical ghost notes as a metaphor for the exclusionary dynamics imposed by social structures, inviting viewers to consider how certain voices are marginalized, and thus encouraging conversations about communication, access, and agency.

Collection exhibitions
Through March 2025

Two focused exhibitions highlight works from the Henry’s collection. Overexposures: Photographs from the Henry Collection features photographs that play with light to obscure and transform subjects, challenging the association of light with truth. Body Language: Recent Acquisitions in the Henry Collection showcases paintings, works on paper, and sculptures that suggest human forms and gestures, animating the body as a potent subject of artistic exploration.