PAST EXHIBITIONS 2000
Robert Natkin: Themes & Variations
January 4, 2000 - January 7, 2001
Robert Natkin is considered to be the evocative poet of post-war American abstract artist. Over the course of four decades his work has been internationally recognized and is represented in the collections of major museums throughout the world including The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Whitney Museum of American Art; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the Centre Pompidou, Paris, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the San Francisco Museum of Art; and the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, CT.
Bridges & Boundaries Revisited: African Americans & Jews
August 26 - October 29, 2000
Based on the acclaimed exhibition organized in 1992 by The Jewish Museum, New York City, in collaboration with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The current revised and updated version has been organized by The Jewish Museum with the generous support of Metropolitan Life Foundation.
The exhibition examines the complex relationship of cooperation and conflict between African Americans and American Jews in the 20th century. Through the presentation of over 100 artifacts, photographs, documents, and works of art, Bridges and Boundaries Revisited: African Americans and American Jews explores the themes of ethnic identity, shared cultural beliefs, experiences of marginality, and visions of social justice.
The exhibition began with a desire to explore the historical relationships among African Americans and American Jews in order to understand the roots of the current tension between the two groups. What became particularly clear during the development of this exhibition was that even before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the interactions between African Americans and American Jews had been marked by both episodes of intense cooperation and extreme tension, the result of different groups within each community coming into contact with one another in socially and politically charged situations. Thus, this exhibition documents both an inspiring story of struggle, triumph, and deep respect, as well as a more complicated narrative of mistrust, inequality, and resentment.
Ameican Drawing Biennial VII
June 3 - July 25, 2000
The Muscarelle Museum of Art has organized the American Drawing Biennial 7, a nationwide competitive exhibition open to all American artists residing in the United States. This exhibition had attained a national reputation and participation has grown with each biennial.
The juror for this show was May Stevens. She honored Janet Culbertson of Shelter Island Heights, NY, Maureen Murray of Westerly, RI, Chucj Richards of Ames, IA, Susan Sauerbrun of New York, NY, Geoffrey Smith of Crystal Lake, IL, and Susan Stuart of Albany, NY with the Juror's Award. The Honorable Mention Winners were Janet Braun-Reinitz of Brooklyn, NY, David Herman of East Meadow, NY, L. Kelly Lyles of Seattle, WA, and Anne Mills McCauley of Marshal, MI. The Director's Purchase Award went to Barry Assed of Whitehall, PA. Pamela Llewellyn of Upper Marlboro, MD was honored with the Curator's Award.
To complement American Drawing Biennial 7, an exhibition of rarely seen treasures from the Museum’s drawing collection, was selected by the museum staff and was presented in the Herman Graphic Arts Study Room. These works of art represent the eclectic nature of the permanent collection; consequently, there was a large range of cultures and time periods represented. Encompassed in the exhibition are drawings by Japanese, Indian, German, Italian, Flemish, and American artists who worked in the 16th-20th centuries.
Crossed Purposes: Joyce & Max Kozloff
March 25 - May 21, 2000
This exhibition marked the first time the Kozloffs had collaborated on joint exhibition by choosing pieces that spotlighted similar themes in their work. It also marked the first time they had consciously considered just how much they have influenced each other. This exhibition reflected the cultural layering and notions about tourism common to both their bodies of work.
Crossed Purposes: Joyce and Max Kozloff was organized by The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio.
Marriage a la Mode
March 25 - May 21, 2000
Marriage à la Mode is a suite of six engravings illustrating the satirical tale of a mismatched couple forced into matrimony by their opportunistic families. Step by step, the unfortunate pair destroys one another and ultimately wrecks their families. This exhibition was featured in the Herman Graphics Study Room.
Lifting the Rose - Colored Glasses: Three Social Realists
January 22 - March 19, 2000
Lifting the Rose-Colored Glasses: Three Social Realists featured over 50 prints and drawings by three of the most important Social Realists, Ben Shahn, Raphael Soyer, and William Gropper. Each created an individual style within the boundaries of Social Realism. Shahn’s early paintings were devoted to political scapegoats; Soyer sympathetically examined the problems faced by the city’s working classes; and Gropper became a virulent critic of social injustices and the over-privileged.
Lifting the Rose-Colored Glasses: Three Social Realists was organized and circulated by Blair-Murrah Exhibitions of Sibley, Missouri.
Works in Progress: Selections from the Permanent Collection
January 22 - March 19, 2000
To accompany the special exhibition, Lifting the Rose-Colored Glasses: Three Social Realists, the Muscarelle Museum of Art presented selections from the permanent collection that honored the strength and vitality of the working classes. This temporary, multinational exhibition encompassed a variety of styles and paid homage to the endurance and vigor of manual laborers who are indeed the fabric of any functioning society. These images displayed the quiet resilience and resolve of laborers whose day-to-day existence have fascinated artist interested in social realism and in the preservation of a strong work ethic in society.
For Posterity: Selections from the National Academy of Design
A Forgotten Williamsbrug: J.J. Lankes Prints
October 2, 1999 - January 16, 2000 |
