International in scope, The Puppet Show explores the imagery of puppets in contemporary art. The exhibition demonstrates that in contemporary art, as in Western culture at large, the puppet shows its capacity as a psychological surrogate, social and political commentator, and entertaining performer. The sculpture, video, and photography included in The Puppet Show investigate key themes associated with puppetry, including manipulation, miniaturization, and control. Among the 29 artists represented in the exhibition are Guy Ben-Ner, Nayland Blake, Louise Bourgeois, Maurizio Cattelan, Anne Chu, Nathalie Djurberg, Pierre Huyghe, Christian Jankowski, Mike Kelley, William Kentridge, Paul McCarthy, Dennis Oppenheim, Kiki Smith, Survival Research Laboratory, and Kara Walker.

The Puppet Show is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. It is cocurated by Ingrid Schaffner, senior curator, ICA, and Carin Kuoni, director, The Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School.

ICA thanks the following funders of The Puppet Show: Barbara B. & Theodore R. Aronson; Etant donnes: The French-American Fund for Contemporary Art; Susquehanna Foundation; The Toby Fund; The Bandier Family Foundation; Goldberg Foundation; Sotheby’s; Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation; The Chodorow Exhibition Initiative Fund; and the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, a program of The Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and administered by University of the Arts.

The exhibition is coordinated for the Frye Art Museum by Robin Held, chief curator and director of exhibitions and collections.