1 Fine Arts Dr
St Louis, Missouri 63110

The installation of 'Document,' a series of 10 paintings, is Chicago-based artist Ian Weaver's first solo presentation in a museum. In 'Document' (2005), Weaver riffs on the highly illusionistic, centuries-old trompe-l'oeil (trick of the eye) that was embraced by the old masters and by 19th-century American painters. These poignant small paintings depict the documents of his family members: a birth certificate, a social security card, a baptismal commitment, a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, a personal letter from his grandmother to his mother and two death certificates. Weaver's artistic practice engages specifically with the African American experience, but is also universal in its themes.

Added by Upcoming Robot on January 1, 2010