April 7 – 12
Reception: Friday, April 10, 6-8pm
Location: Art Lofts Gallery, 111 N Frances St, Madison, WI
When did I stop knowing you? is a paper installation and collaborative artist book by Kate Flake with their brother Ciaran Flake. Together the explore their mother’s archive of family photographs to examine how growing up in the American South complicated their relationships to their queer identities and to each other. Told in two narratives the artist book offers an intimate look into how the siblings grew up and away from each other. The book offers not only a way to understand their shared childhood but as a means to mend their frayed relationship, transforming it into something new. The paper installation, evoking the forysthia bush they played in as children, provides a liminal space to read the book and ask not only, “When did I stop knowing you?” but also “How can I know you again?”
The Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions season continues with Kate Flake’s exhibit When did I stop knowing you? The MFA Thesis Exhibitions mark the culmination of a three-year degree program that emphasizes development of a rigorous studio art practice under the supervision of a faculty guidance committee. Exploring an interdisciplinary approach to art making, as well as coursework in art history and related fields, artists cultivate professional practices that facilitate a sustainable career in the arts. Join us in celebrating our Class of 2026 UW-Madison Graduate professionals!