Every two years, faculty members from the University of Utah Department of Art & Art History present contemporary works the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in what we lovingly call the “faculty show.”
This year’s exhibition, “Relative Truths” is curated by Peter Hay and invites contemplation of human relationships relative to truth/fiction, past/present, physical/virtual space, as well as the complexities of social structures today.
Presenting a wide range of media, this exhibition addresses themes of isolation, division, contested histories, cultural anxiety, dismantling of human rights, and the persistent creativity of the human mind. Some artists draw upon and embrace the uncertainty of a shared mass-media, post-pandemic, AI-informed reality, while others choose to reject it. Through wit, nostalgia, craft, and material play, these artists challenge convention and defy categorization to reveal new perspectives on the technological, environmental, and social conditions we are all navigating in our world today.
“’Relative Truths’ offers a rare glimpse into what happens when some of the most creative minds on campus follow their curiosity,” said Associate Professor Edward Batement, the faculty liaison for the exhibition. “The scope of their work and the depth of ideas they explore demonstrate how art continues to challenge, provoke, and reveal new ways of seeing our world.”
These contemporary artists share a connection to the Salt Lake City Area, but their work is not contained by geography. Global connections proliferate due to constant social media connections, and minds constantly merge via algorithmic feeds filled with content fabricated by artificial intelligence. Artists today are flush with information, inspiration, and tools inconceivable to earlier generations.
Read the UMFA’s interview with guest curator, Peter Hay here.
Opening Reception
The public is invited to a free opening celebration on Friday, September 26, at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts honoring the opening of Relative Truths and salt 17: Adama Delphine Fawundu, the UMFA’s concurrent exhibition and latest iteration of the popular salt series.
RSVP to the Opening Celebration
Three artists featured in Relative Truths will discuss the exhibition in a panel facilitated by Peter Hay, November 6, 2025, at 6 pm.
Artists
- Edward Bateman
- Pamela Beach
- Henry Becker
- Simon Blundell
- Laurel Caryn
- Lewis Crawford
- Alison Denyer
- Elizabeth Dewitte
- Eric Erekson
- John Erickson
- Daniel Evans
- Lindsay Frei
- Haynes Goodsell
- Zev Gorfinkle
- Joshua Graham
- Michael Hirshon
- Zak Jensen
- Natalie Kirk
- Beth Krensky
- Shasta Krueger
- Jordan Layton
- V. Kim Martinez
- Martin Novak
- Maureen O'Hara Ure
- Kevin Perry
- Michelle Peterein
- Sydney Porter Williams
- Marnie Powers-Torrey
- Vanessa Romo
- Sara Serratos
- Randall Smith
- Carol Sogard
- Paul Stout
- Marissa Strickland
- Emily Tipps
- Moses Williams
- Jaclyn Wright
- Xi Zhang