Featuring more than 100 works in a variety of media from the renowned collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, The Art of Food showcases how some of the most prominent artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have considered this universal subject. Organized thematically, this exhibition uses an artistic lens to examine food beyond its purpose as body fuel.

In its most prosaic sense, food is a physical necessity for survival, yet its overall significance transcends beyond mere sustenance. Food is integral to our communities, relationships, cultures and languages. People interact with food on varying levels. Some of us grow it; more of us buy it. We transform it by cutting, cooking and dressing it with spices, marinades and garnishes. We use food as an intermediary to connect with others through holiday meals, business lunches, dates and more. We fight over food. We deny food to others as a tool of suppression and cultural erasure. We fear for our health, feeding a growing global population and the effects of climate change on food production.

Through the works of artists such as Enrique Chagoya, Damien Hirst, Hung Liu, Analia Saban, Lorna Simpson and Andy Warhol, it becomes clear why food is a recurring subject in art, ever since the spark of human creativity was ignited thousands of years ago.