PHILADELPHIA, PA — Visitors to InLiquid Gallery this summer will step into alternate timelines, forgotten histories, and imagined futures as a new multimedia exhibition challenges audiences to reconsider how the past continues to shape the world around them.
Opening May 29, Future/Past/Present brings together seven Philadelphia-area artists whose work explores memory, identity, political power, and cultural history through photography, sculpture, textiles, painting, and mixed-media installations.
Timed to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect not only on the nation’s history, but also on the choices shaping its future.
Art That Reimagines History
The exhibition moves through overlapping timelines that blur the boundaries between historical reality and imagined possibilities.
Some works focus on individuals and stories that have been forgotten or erased from public memory, while others create artifacts from alternate versions of history—objects that seem familiar but belong to worlds that never existed.
Visitors will encounter quilted portraits honoring incarcerated individuals, sculptural reinterpretations of American iconography, and reimagined maps and political artifacts that question how history is constructed and remembered.
Seven Artists, Seven Perspectives
Featured artists in Future/Past/Present include:
- Randall Cleaver, whose moving mechanical sculptures transform discarded materials into humorous and thought-provoking scenes
- Billy Colbert, who layers political and pop culture imagery to explore the complexities of Black American identity
- Carolyn Harper, who hand-sews portraits of incarcerated people serving life sentences without parole
- Candace Karch, documenting Philadelphia’s drag scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s
- James Labold, whose glass sculptures reinterpret American symbols and mythology
- Carole Loeffler, using repurposed textiles to examine women’s history and shared experiences
- Benjamin B. Olshin, creator of fictional historical artifacts and alternate-reality documents
Together, the artists create an exhibition that encourages visitors to think about the ripple effects of history, politics, and personal identity across generations.
Part of a Citywide America250 Initiative
Future/Past/Present is part of Radical Americana, a citywide initiative organized by The Clay Studio that connects arts organizations across Philadelphia through research-driven contemporary exhibitions tied to the nation’s Semiquincentennial.
The broader initiative aims to encourage public dialogue about America’s cultural identity, civic life, and evolving future through contemporary art and storytelling.
Event Details
- What: Future/Past/Present multimedia exhibition
- When: May 29 through July 11, 2026
- Where: InLiquid Gallery, 1400 N. American St., Philadelphia, PA 19122
- More Info: https://inliquid.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F
Reception Dates
The public is invited to gallery receptions on:
- Thursday, June 11, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Thursday, July 9, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
As Philadelphia prepares for America’s 250th anniversary, Future/Past/Present offers a chance to look backward, forward, and inward all at once—through artwork that asks audiences not just what history was, but what it still could become.
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