Hillyer’s featured solo artist, Joan Cox, will lead a gallery talk about her exhibition Sapphic Gaze. In her exhibition, Cox crafts visual narratives that champion intense, celebratory, and nuanced relationships among lesbian couples.

Sapphic Gaze presents a compelling series of vibrant, life-size portraits that delve into the intimate lives of women-loving women. Drawing from her 23-year relationship and the experiences of lesbian couples in her community, Joan Cox crafts visual narratives that champion intense, celebratory, and nuanced relationships. By reimagining historical art compositions with personal narratives and lush, symbolic imagery, Joan challenges the historical absence of lesbian representation in Western art. Her paintings are a canvas of affirmation, celebrating the dynamic and complex intimacies between women, which have long been overlooked or taboo. Through this exhibition, Joan showcases the beauty and complexity of sapphic love and aims to affirm these relationships, recognizing them for their intrinsic value and significant place in contemporary society.

This program is free to the public ($10 suggested donation)