01/31/2026
Made in 1981, "Noh Mask" 🎭 by Bunny Tobias () represents the early stages of what would become a recurring subject throughout her artistic career: masks.
Used for protection, performance, and ritual, masks help us don new personas to participate in intangible cultural heritages, like religious rites or the recitation of myths. They help us navigate social interactions, but they may also carry psychological risks like disassociation, as in the diplomatic mask of a politician🕴🗣
Crafted more than four decades ago, today, "Noh Mask" invites us to consider how the reverence and power of masks has changed or stayed the same. What role does a mask, physical or abstract, play in our digital culture, where performative self-expression is rewarded with likes, shares, and reposts?
On 2.7.26, 1–2 P.M., we will have the special opportunity to perhaps glean an answer to questions like this as Tobias walks us through her exhibition, "Invisible," on view through 2.7.26.
Tobias, never one to impose an interpretation, seldom gives talks on her work, so be sure to save the date 🖊🗓!
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Photos by Marylene Mey, courtesy of form & concept
Pictured: BUNNY TOBIAS | "Noh Mask," 1981. Ceramic and mixed media, 12 1/2 x 10 x 3 1/2 in (31.8 x 25.4 x 8.9 cm).
