“In Vivo: Within the Living” spotlights the intersection of art and medicine
“In Vivo: Within the Living,” an exhibition on view at the University Art Gallery at Sonoma State through March 14, examines the fragility of the human body and the intersecting themes of vulnerability, tension, empathy, resilience, healing, and transformation.
At the heart of the exhibition are medical portraits courtesy of philanthropist and cancer patient Richard C. Colton Jr., presented in collaboration with the Richard C. Colton Jr. Foundation and faculty and graduate students from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Department of Art as Applied to Medicine and the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives.
The exhibition opened Feb. 5 with a reception featuring chief curator and artist Taryn Möller Nicoll. She was joined by assistant curators Emma McKillips and Nicola Morasch, both current SSU students. Professor Jennifer E. Fairman, director of production at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, led a curator talk, “Drawn from Life: Visualizing Medicine and Healing,” on Feb. 6.
Although Colton could not attend the recent exhibition opening, members of his family were present, underscoring the network of support behind the medical journey depicted in the portraits.
Nicoll observed a series of surgeries Colton underwent at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, translating sketches and photographs captured in the operating room into paintings on display. One work, “Visceral Layers,” a large oil on canvas, presents a close-up of Colton’s surgery. Nicoll employed layered techniques, rotating the canvas to build texture and depth and infusing the surface with sheen and movement.
“You can feel it viscerally,” said Claudia Molloy, director of operations for the University Art Gallery.
Nicoll said “In Vivo” centers on a unifying idea: “Our common ground is the body.” She described the exhibition as an exploration of the shared purpose of fine art and science – disciplines that, as gallery art student intern Deborah Figueroa Gutierrez noted, “aren’t really separate subjects.” Both require a tremendous mastery of technical skill but ultimately exist in service to people.
Featuring medical illustrations created for scientific journal covers, digital animations, documentary portraits and prosthetic devices designed to restore form and function, the exhibition brings work traditionally seen in laboratories and clinical settings into the gallery. Nicoll described the approach as moving “from the personal to the universal," emphasizing shared human experiences that transcend economic, cultural, and educational differences.
“It’s really about people,” Nicoll said. “Anatomical drawings and procedures are created with patients, students, and the community in mind.”
Molloy said the exhibition highlights the versatility of an art degree, allowing students to see where their education can take them and opening pathways to meaningful and creative careers they might not have imagined.