Interludes: Paintings by Michael Mogavero   Mogavero presents paintings of elaborately stylized and ornate gates that partially obscure sexually explicit scenes culled from pornographic sites on the Internet. The paintings explore the societal parameters of what is desired and what is forbidden in richly layered metaphors. Mogavero states: “the compositions presented in Interludes flow, as would scenes in a play, complete with dramatic lighting, hidden spaces and unembarrassed characters. The actors perform fiercely and boldly in a peculiar space where seduction and discomfort play hide-and-seek, in a melding world of contrary melodies.   Mogavero earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore. His work has been shown in solo exhibitions at 511 Gallery, Holly Solomon Gallery, Ruth Siegel Gallery and Oscarson Siegeltuch Gallery in New York, Galerie Six Freidrich in Munich, Germany, and Galerie Corinne Hummel in Basel, Switzerland. Group exhibitions include “200 years of Drawing” at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and “Back to the USA” (a survey exhibition of contemporary American art that traveled throughout Europe). Mogavero’s paintings and drawings are in numerous public collections such as AT&T – Chicago, The Prudential Insurance Company – Princeton, N.J., Price/ Waterhouse & Co. – New York, The Walker Art Center – Minneapolis, Thomas Ammann - Zurich, Switzerland, and Artco International – Geneva, Switzerland. He is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Texas in Austin.

Art from the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction   The Kinsey Institute Art Collection was founded by Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey in 1947, to provide resources for his research on human sexual behavior. Today the mission of the art collection is to acquire, preserve, research, interpret, exhibit, and provide scholarly access to visual materials, as part of the institute’s overall mission to promote the interdisciplinary study of sex, gender, and reproduction.  Through educational exhibitions, publications, electronic resources, research visits, and programs, the extensive and varied materials contained in the collection are made accessible to scholars, students, artists, writers, filmmakers, non-academic researchers, and the general public.   The unique history, research programs, and collections of The Kinsey Institute have established it as a leader internationally in scholarship, teaching, and service in the fields of human sexuality, gender, and reproduction.  To learn more about The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Blooomington, Indiana, please visit www.kinseyinstitute.org.   We wish to acknowledge the contributions of Ms. Catherine Roehr-Johnson, Curator of the Kinsey Collection of Art, who assisted in selecting artworks for this exhibition, Mr. Kristen Van Patten, Exhibition Coordinator, and the students in the Exhibition Practicum class. - Victoria Star Varner, Chair of Studio Art, Gallery Director, and curator of this exhibition