In dialogue with Intuit President and CEO Debra Kerr, artists and scholars share insights into the impact and legacy of the Henry Darger Room at Intuit. These conversations will inform the re-curation and reinstallation of the Room and its accompanying exhibition on the life and practice of Darger—opening in 2024 following the museum’s renovation. In Dialogue on Henry Darger, a three-part virtual program series, is an opportunity for audiences to connect with the renowned outsider artist’s work more deeply and consider new perspectives on his impact.
In the third conversation, artist and educator Jan Tichy will discuss his introduction to Henry Darger, his installation Artes in Horto – Seven Gardens for Chicago in collaboration with ART on THE MART, and the significance of Darger’s legacy in Chicago and beyond.
Closed captions will be available at the virtual program. Please contact Lindsey Wurz at lindsey@art.org with questions related to accessibility accommodations.
Two hours before the program, Intuit will email the Zoom link to registrants. Please check your junk folder for event reminders. Unfortunately, these emails are sent there sometimes.
Who is Henry Darger?
Henry Darger (1892–1973) was a Chicagoan who spent part of his youth consigned to an Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children in Lincoln, Ill. As a young adult, he returned to Chicago, got a job as a janitor and lived a mostly-reclusive life in a one-room apartment. At the time of Darger’s death, his landlords discovered an extensive body of artwork and writings. Central to these was the novel, In the Realms of the Unreal, accompanied by hundreds of illustrations made through a painstaking tracing process, through which he learned to draw and paint. In 2000, former landlady Kiyoko Lerner donated the contents of Darger’s living and working spaces to Intuit, which were installed in 2008. The Henry Darger Room Collection and Archive includes source materials for his illustrations (tracings, clippings from newspapers, magazines, coloring books, cartoons); architectural elements and furnishings (table, fireplace, phonograph, dresser, chandelier); and art-making supplies (paints, brushes, pencils).
Meet Jan Tichy
Jan Tichy is a contemporary artist and educator working at the intersection of video, sculpture, architecture and photography. His conceptual work is socially and politically engaged. Born in Prague in 1974, Tichy studied art in Israel before earning his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Photography and the Department of Art and Technology Studies. In addition to his gallery exhibitions, Tichy has been involved in large public art projects throughout the U.S. that engage communities and provide platforms for sharing. In 2018, he was one of ART on THE MART’s inaugural artists, exhibiting Artes in Horto – Seven Gardens for Chicago, which included Henry Darger-inspired imagery.