Rhona Hoffman Gallery’s exhibit, These Times, opens on Friday, November 1, 2024, and features works by artists Bassim Al-Shaker, Thomas Hirschhorn, Annette Lemieux, Brian Maguire, Michael Rakowitz, and Paul Seawright. Each work is a witness's view of a specific human condition from disparate modern-day histories and geographies. These paintings, photographs, and prints probe their subject matter as a reflection of reality, not embellished but provocative. As Lemieux said, “The subjects can be difficult, so one has to seduce the viewer for the viewer to be able to look at it.”  

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Bassim Al Shaker (b. 1986 Baghdad, Iraq) is a New York-based artist and filmmaker. Al Shaker received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his BFA from the University of Baghdad College of Fine Arts. Al Shaker has exhibited work in Documenta Fifteen (Kassel, Germany); The Venice Biennale for the Iraqi Pavilion; The Arizona State University Art Museum (Tempe, AZ); FLXST Contemporary (Chicago, IL); and MANA Contemporary (Chicago, IL), among other venues. His work has been written about in publications such as The New York Times, ArtNews, Artnet, e-flux, NewCity, WBEZ Chicago, and Phoenix New Times.

Thomas Hirschhorn (b. 1957 Bern, Switzerland) studied at Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich before relocating to Paris in 1983, where he continues to live and work. Hirschhorn's art, shown worldwide at venues like Documenta11, Venice Biennale, and São Paulo Biennale, often explores public space to challenge ideas of authorship, autonomy, and the transformative power of art. Known for monumental projects such as the Spinoza and Gramsci Monuments, Hirschhorn dedicates his work to thinkers and artists who inspire him, aiming to provoke connection and dialogue. He has received numerous awards, including the Marcel Duchamp Prize and the Kurt Schwitters Prize, and his works are in prominent collections globally, including MoMA, Tate Modern, and Centre Pompidou.

Annette Lemieux (b.1957 Norfolf, Virginia) is a key figure in post-Conceptualist art, known for her pioneering work in painting, assemblage, and photomontage, influenced by Minimalism and Pop art. A member of the generation that shaped “Picture Theory,” Lemieux uses readymade media images to engage with contemporary social and political themes, continually inviting new interpretations of her work. Her art has been widely exhibited in institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the New Museum, New York; and Castello di Rivoli in Italy, and is held in collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, and the Whitney. Lemieux has received numerous awards, including grants from the NEA and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, as well as an honorary doctorate from Montserrat College of Art.

Brian Maguire, based in Dublin and Paris, creates paintings centered on themes of inequality, violence, and justice, viewing his practice as an act of solidarity that rehumanizes and recenters marginalized voices. Deeply socially engaged, he collaborates with refugees, survivors, and the incarcerated in places like Sudan, Syria, and Ciudad Juárez, using a subject-led approach that strives to “repay the debt” to his subjects. Maguire’s work, inspired by direct observations in conflict zones, aligns with war reportage yet transforms these testimonies into powerful artworks. His use of painterly techniques introduces a tension between aesthetic allure and the raw reality of his subject matter, urging viewers into an ethical and poetic engagement with his art.

Michael Rakowitz, an Iraqi-American artist living in Chicago, explores the intersections of art, activism, and cultural heritage. Known for projects that challenge norms, Rakowitz has exhibited globally, including at dOCUMENTA (13), MoMA, Tate Modern, and the Istanbul Biennial. His solo shows span major institutions like MCA Chicago, SITE Santa Fe, and the Whitechapel Gallery in London. His art, rooted in themes of memory and conflict, invites viewers to reconsider cultural narratives. Honored with awards such as the 2020 Nasher Prize and the Fourth Plinth commission in London, Rakowitz is represented by Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Jane Lombard Gallery, and Barbara Wien Galerie, among others.

Northern Irish photographer Paul Seawright is known for his work exploring conflict and memory. His early series, Sectarian Murder (1988), documents the sectarian violence of 1970s Belfast, pairing images with newspaper text. During a 1997 residency at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, he returned to Belfast to document defensive architecture in North and West Belfast amid the early ceasefire. In 2002, he was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to capture Afghanistan’s battlefields. Seawright has exhibited widely in Europe, North America, and Asia. Seawright represented Wales at the 2003 Venice Biennale, and his work is held in collections including Tate and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. He is currently a Professor of Photography and Head of Belfast School of Art at Ulster University and is represented by Kerlin Gallery in Dublin