Northwestern University's Block Museum of Art is hosting the exhibition "We can make any two stories touch," featuring contemporary works by five second-year MFA candidates in the art theory and practice department: Lamia Abukhadra, Pegah Bahador, naakita f.k., Przemek Pyszczek, and Gabby Banks. The show, running through June 14, includes portraits, films, and mixed-media pieces. Gabby Banks presents three portraits of living Black figurative painters Kerry James Marshall, Jordan Casteel, and Amy Sherald, painted in their respective styles. Przemek Pyszczek explores legacy with works like "My Father Winning Gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics (No Boycott Version)" and a wooden Olivier salad sculpture. naakita f.k. addresses resource extraction in "Porous Bodies," using dust from deep-sea mining and copper mine samples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The exhibition matters because it showcases the culmination of two years of research and creative development by emerging artists at a major university, highlighting how MFA programs foster experimentation across mediums—from painting to video, performance, and installation. The artists' reflections on citation, legacy, and environmental extraction offer insight into contemporary art's engagement with social and political themes. This show also underscores the role of university museums in supporting early-career artists and providing a platform for their work to enter public dialogue.