Since prehistoric times, humans have used images and geometric forms to convey belief systems, stories, and personal experiences. Even abstract art is shaped by cultural, political, and personal perspectives, conveyed through choices in shape, color, and reference. While certain symbols are widely understood within a certain time and place, their meanings become obscured as they drift away from their original context. As ideas and objects circulate across time and cultures, meanings shift and evolve. Like the Sphinx, this exhibition invites viewers to engage with art as a series of puzzles to be decoded, and to apply their experiences to form their own interpretations. Works are drawn primarily from the museum’s collection and grouped by themes including Myth and Ritual, Hybrid Creatures, Abstraction, Figuration, and the Americas.