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Curator Judith Tolnick Champa brings six artists and a range of media to the WaterFire Arts Center Gallery, using the figure to consider heritage, memory and physical pressure. The exhibition runs through Nov. 8, 2026.
All times are local to the venue · America/New York
In Go, Figure!, the human body is not just something to portray. It becomes a way to approach distinct questions: how histories shape identity, how bodies withstand pressure, and how resistance and defeat can be represented. Six artists take up that inquiry without being asked to arrive at one shared answer.
Curator Judith Tolnick Champa brings together Gabrielle Barzaghi, Leslie Fry, Claudia Olds Goldie, Zhexing Huang, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson and Entang Wiharso. Their work spans pastel, stoneware, ceramic, mixed media and layered silkscreen; the common ground is a subject, not a single style.
The exhibition connects particular practices to particular histories. Jazzmen Lee-Johnson considers the African diaspora’s history and its continuing bearing on Black communities. Entang Wiharso’s figures move between Java and Rhode Island, identified in the exhibition listing as his homelands. Gabrielle Barzaghi creates characters rooted in her family’s White Russian heritage. Those points of reference give visitors distinct ways into the show’s broad themes of identity and memory.
Further reading: Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · Go, Figure! Featured Artist Statements - WaterFire Providence ↗
Some of the exhibition’s clearest contrasts come through its descriptions of form. Leslie Fry’s ceramic limbs are fragmented; Claudia Olds Goldie’s forms are fragile and may crack. Both approaches address how bodies bear pressure, but they do so through different visual ideas. The listing connects that strain to pressures that may be natural or constructed.
Zhexing Huang’s seated figures turn toward resistance and defeat. Rather than treating these artists as variations on one theme, visitors can compare how the exhibition moves among vulnerability, endurance and opposition—and how the chosen materials help make those questions visible.
Further reading: Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗
Go, Figure! is the first part of a two-exhibition project. A second, separate show, The Body Politic: Defiant Figuration Today, is scheduled for Nancy Devine Gallery in Warren, Rhode Island, Nov. 21, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027. It will feature different work by the same six artists and is also curated by Tolnick Champa.
The Warren exhibition’s opening reception is listed for Nov. 21 from 4 to 7 p.m., with A Speculative Jurisdiction (Part II) scheduled for 6 p.m. That later date and venue are not part of the Providence gallery visit.
Further reading: Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗
The Oct. 15 opening reception was scheduled for 6–9 p.m., with A Speculative Jurisdiction (Part I), a performance-lecture by Hyperion Yvaire lo Saga in the invented persona “Prof. Omeros Quinn,” at 8 p.m. Both are past as of Oct. 31, 2026, and are not part of the remaining gallery dates.
The announced exhibition run is Oct. 15–Nov. 8, 2026. The calendar lists Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 1, and Wednesday, Nov. 4, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; and Friday, Nov. 6, Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
If you are considering an Oct. 31 visit, check with the venue before setting out to confirm that the gallery is still open. The series calendar also lists dates after Nov. 8; those are beyond this exhibition’s announced run.
Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · WaterFire’s Guide to Visiting Providence - WaterFire Providence ↗ · WaterFire Arts Center Exhibitions - WaterFire Providence ↗
The exhibition is in the Gallery at WaterFire Arts Center, 475 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02908. The venue has other spaces, including a Main Hall; the exhibition listing specifies the Gallery.
Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · WaterFire’s Guide to Visiting Providence - WaterFire Providence ↗
The exhibition listing gives no admission price and does not say whether entry is free or ticketed. WaterFire’s information about free admission to its lightings does not establish the Gallery’s terms.
Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · Frequently Asked Questions - WaterFire Providence ↗
The exhibition listing does not describe access arrangements for this gallery visit. WaterFire’s published accessibility information concerns its lighting events, so it does not confirm facilities for the Gallery.
Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · Accessibility at WaterFire Events - WaterFire Providence ↗
The Gallery is at WaterFire Arts Center, 475 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02908. Event information does not give transit or parking details for this exhibition.
Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · WaterFire’s Guide to Visiting Providence - WaterFire Providence ↗
Oct. 31, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Nov. 1 and Nov. 4, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Nov. 5, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; and Nov. 6–8, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. For an Oct. 31 visit, confirm the gallery is still open before leaving.
Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · WaterFire’s Guide to Visiting Providence - WaterFire Providence ↗ · WaterFire Arts Center Exhibitions - WaterFire Providence ↗
The exhibition listing does not say whether admission is free or ticketed, and gives no price.
No. A Speculative Jurisdiction (Part I) was scheduled for the Oct. 15 opening and has passed as of Oct. 31, 2026.
In the Gallery at WaterFire Arts Center, 475 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02908.
Go, Figure! - WaterFire Providence ↗ · WaterFire’s Guide to Visiting Providence - WaterFire Providence ↗
No. The Body Politic: Defiant Figuration Today is a separate exhibition with different work by the same artists, scheduled at Nancy Devine Gallery in Warren from Nov. 21, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027.
475 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02908
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.
Images from the linked sources. Each caption identifies the context of the image.
Event, planning and background information checked 2026-10-31 against the linked sources.