Exhibition Status: Past

Zelda by Herself

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Zelda by Herself: The Art of Zelda Fitzgerald

“Zelda’s compositions were so suggestive of dramatic stage sets—her use of primary colors so bold—that I sensed, even then, the poetry of her every endeavor.”

– Eleanor Lanahan, granddaughter

“Zelda Fitzgerald possessed many—almost too many—innate gifts. She brimmed with creativity, and, unlike her husband, Scott, fired off her talents in all directions at once.”

– Ariella Budick, Newsday

Although best known as the beautiful and flamboyant wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald was an accomplished artist in her own right. Her creative endeavors in writing, dancing, doll crafting, and painting were highly successful yet overshadowed by her husband’s work. This exhibition includes 54 watercolors and paper dolls from the Fitzgerald estate, some illustrative of their fast-paced life and others drawn from well-known literature. Her work, which covers religious themes as well as fairytales, children’s books, and her lifelong fascination with dance, combines a wealth of influences—Expressionism, Surrealism, and Cubism, as well as American Modernists such as Georgia O’Keefe—but is strikingly original in its lyrical intensity and almost febrile use of color.

Zelda developed schizophrenia in her thirties and spent the last two decades of her life in a succession of hospitals and institutions, where painting and doll-making gave structure to her days and served as an outlet for the emotions, obsessions, and nostalgia that had come to dominate her life. Sadly, many of the extraordinary paintings she created during this time—the most prolific of her life—have been lost, whether misplaced or destroyed in fires; even so, enough survive to demonstrate her incandescent talent and show conclusively that she was much more than just her husband’s shadow. This exhibition was organized by the Robert Hull Fleming Museum and the Fitzgerald estate with International Arts & Artists.

Voices

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Voices: Contemporary Ceramic Art from Sweden

“From color-spattered hanging lamps to luminescent volcanoes to ceramics like spineless deep-sea creatures, ‘Voices’ is neither neutral nor colorless, and is one of the best exhibits I’ve seen.”

– Angelina Castillo, Ithaca Rattle

“It flows out of them like some sort of pure, gorgeous, momentarily materialized sound.”

– Roberta Smith, New York Times

The ten artists featured in Voices are leading exponents of the dynamism and originality of contemporary ceramic art in Sweden. Viewed together, they testify to the striking uniqueness of the contemporary development of Swedish ceramics. The artists, selected from different generations, work in varying styles and are free in their relationship to traditional ceramic art to seek new directions and exercise full freedom of expression. Despite their use of a wide array of media—such as clay, glass, rope, glaze, and metal—they demonstrate that it is no longer the material that is of utmost importance but rather the point of view of the ceramic artist. The artists contributing their “voices” to the exhibition work sculpturally and conceptually, addressing existential issues with humor or abstraction.

The ten artists were selected by Inger Molin, owner of Galleria Molin in Stockholm and a preeminent figure in Swedish ceramics. Voices: Contemporary Ceramic Art from Sweden was developed by the Swedish Institute and organized for tour by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

The View from Here

The View from Here: Contemporary Russian and American Screenprints

“Plan to make an extended visit—or multiple visits—to absorb the depth of the work in this show.”

– Dave Rootes, Colorado Springs Independent

“The literal, profound differences between the two countries are some of the most intriguing aspects of this exhibition.”

– Alex Miokovic and Heidi Nickisher, Rochester City Newspaper

A fashion model sports a camouflage bikini in the inferno of the Gulf War, amidst battle-weary marines; a patchwork of cancelled postage stamps all feature the stern, bewhiskered faces of Russian Tsars; R-rated tarot cards eroticize the 1939 Hitler-Stalin Pact into something more than a handshake…

The irreverent Russian and American printmakers of the Hand Print Workshop are known for tackling subjects both jocular and taboo. The common thread is social relevance: the American printmakers, most of them minority artists, touch on aspects of America’s stratified society, while the Russians give full rein to their post-Perestroika license to satirize history, politics, and Soviet social realism.

A colorful, sometimes shocking, excavation of history and cultural identity, this exhibition raises fascinating comparisons between American and Russian culture and heritage. Included are such artists as Barton Lidice Benes, William Christenberry, Y. David Chung, Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, Hung Liu, Igor Makarevich, Pavel Makov, Juane Quick-to-See Smith, Renee Stou, and Carrie Mae Weems. First shown at The State Tretiakov Gallery in Moscow, the U.S. version included a selection of 70 screenprints by 21 artists working within the Hand Print Workshop International, a nonprofit collaborative in Alexandria, Virginia.

Victorian Visions

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Victorian Visions: Pre-Raphaelite Drawings and Watercolours from the National Museums & Galleries of Wales

“The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood [was] a small but influential association of artists determined to revive the purity of art before Raphael by returning to the legendary themes, vibrant colors and accumulation of detail characteristic of medieval art.”

– D. Tom Mack, Aiken Standard

“One doesn’t have to be an expert in 19th-century British art to appreciate ‘Victorian Visions’ . . . An interest in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies, and an attraction to the lips of Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson, will do. “

– Jeffrey Day, The State

Victorian Visions showcased 67 exquisite drawings and watercolors from the National Museums & Galleries of Wales. Comprising works by Victorian artists, primarily the Pre-Raphaelites, this exhibition examined the methods and motivations behind drawings and paintings of this era.

The fraternity of artists known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) began as a response to and an outgrowth of the rapidly expanding British Empire toward the end of the Industrial Revolution. Seeking a haven from urban blight, and feeling alienated from an increasingly global, mechanized society, the PRB looked to a romanticized past derived mostly from mythology, religion, and idyllic poetry, such as Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. Ironically, they also sought patronage from the burgeoning middle class—a product of the machine age—and took ideas and inspiration from recent archaeological finds and from the influx of foreign art styles and exotic culture that came with Empire.

Reflecting the wide range of styles found in the museum collection, the diverse works of Victorian Visionsincluded careful portraits of recognizable individuals as well as fleeting sensory images or idealized impressions of people and landscapes. The exhibition uniquely combined works that were completed for sale with ones originally intended to be used as backgrounds for oil paintings.

Artists in this exhibition included Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Sir William Morris, William Burges, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Sir Edward Poynter.

The Tsars’ Cabinet

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The Tsars’ Cabinet: Two Hundred Years of Russian Decorative Arts under the Romanovs

“The last of the Russian Romanov dynasty perished just about 100 years ago. If you’ve ever wanted to see how they lived, and more specifically how they dined, you now can.”

– Carla Ives, AXS

“I was stunned by the quality of this exhibition, where each object is a true masterpiece-example of the Russian imperial porcelain… I am so glad that in America, in addition to the renowned Marjorie Merriweather Post’s priceless collection of Russian art at the Hillwood Museum and Gardens in Washington, D.C., there are more equally astounding private collections of Russian decorative applied art.”

– Ekaterina Khmelnitskaya, Curator, State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia

The Epoch Times, May 9, 2012

Organized by the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary, this exhibition highlights more than 200 years of decorative arts under the Romanovs during the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the works were designed for use by the tsars and members of their families, while others illustrate prominent styles of the period. Comprising objects ranging from porcelain services, glassware, enamel, silver gilt, and decorated eggs, the exhibition is a comprehensive and inclusive collection demonstrating the majesty and luxury of the Romanov reign.

Many of the items are grouped by tsar, which helps to illustrate major social or political trends of each tsar’s reign: for example, Peter the Great and the engagement of the West; Catherine the Great and the Enlightenment; and Alexander I and the defeat of Napoleon, among others. The objects and their styles reflect the political forces that shaped each tsar’s regime. Each grouping of objects shows the tastes and singularities of the Romanov family through the magnificent items they owned and commissioned. The exhibition puts these important artistic objects in context, to connect the viewer to the individuals and events that shaped the history of Russia.

Gather Up the Fragments

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Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection

“Complex in its simple beauty, Gather Up the Fragments is an inspirational tour de force spotlighting a culture all but gone. It is a journey into the psyche of men and women living their calling with intent, dreaming of Heaven on Earth and dedicating themselves to using every fiber of themselves to make that happen.”

– F. Daniel Kent, excerpt from Now Hear This! blog

“Virtually everything in this show projects an aura of the respect the Shakers afforded to both the materials and the user, as well as their ethic of faith in simplicity.”

– Ken Greenleaf, Portland Phoenix

“Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”

– John 6:12, King James Version

Gather Up the Fragments tells the story of the first and most avid collectors of the Shaker art—Faith and Edward Deming Andrews. This exhibition of approximately 190 objects—including craft and household objects such as textiles, baskets, kitchen implements, and furniture—is the most comprehensive collection of Shaker materials ever assembled, offering insight into the Andrews’ complex role as pioneers in the field of Shaker studies.

Organized by Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, this exhibition examines the full scope of the Andrews’ involvement with Shakerism—as scholars, collectors, and dealers. From the 1920s through the ’60s, they actively pursued Shaker objects, collecting mainly from the Shakers themselves. Through careful documentation and scholarship, they have illuminated these materials, and their collection has bequeathed to future generations the most comprehensive body of evidence on the culture of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.

Lethal Beauty

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Lethal Beauty: Samurai Weapons and Armor

“祇園精舎の鐘の聲、諸行無常の響き有り。 沙羅雙樹の花の色、盛者必衰の理を顯す。 驕れる者も久しからず、唯春の夜の夢の如し。 猛き者も遂には滅びぬ、偏に風の前の塵に同じ。”

“The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the Sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.”

— Excerpt from The Tale of the Heike, translated by Helen Craig McCullough

“The ‘Lethal Beauty’ show certainly delivers on both aspects of its title.”

— Donald Munro, The Fresno Bee

The striking duality of deadly weaponry forged with artistic grace was on full display in this remarkable exhibition of 63 works by master craftsmen of the 13th to 20th centuries. Lethal Beauty featured exquisite specimens of the art of war, including full suits of armor, helmets, warrior hats, face masks, long and short swords, daggers, rifles, and more.

Tales of the samurai have enchanted people since the 12th century and continue to delight and captivate audiences today. The oldest sword in the exhibition dated from the 13th century but was so finely crafted that it might have been new. The exhibition also showcased a pair of 17th century folding screens by a Kano school artist and a seven-piece set of 17th century sword fittings, both depicting battle scenes from The Tale of the Heike, the illustrious Japanese warrior epic that marks the dawn of samurai honor, valor, and fortitude.

The exhibition was accompanied by a color-illustrated catalogue and was curated by Dr. Andreas Marks, the director and chief curator of the Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture.

Runway Madness

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Runway Madness: Photographs by Lucian Perkins

“[B]eyond the smoke and mirrors of the runway lies another part of the fashion world. It is rich in emotion, complicated by personalities and human frailties, and rooted in commerce. These photographs capture fashion’s other face.”

– Robin Ghivan, Washington Post

“Runway Madness presents the photography of Lucian Perkins, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer from the Washington Post. He has captured the ‘silent anguish of a designer putting himself and his art on the line,’ the panic of a split seam moments before a model takes to the runway, the world of fashion editors and buyers, and the critical eye of the press.”

– American Textile History Museum

The beat…the lights…the cascade of color… This arresting collection of photographs by Lucian Perkins, Washington Post photojournalist and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is the total high fashion experience.

For this exhibition, Perkins trained his lens on the New York fashion shows, taking his audience backstage and to the front row for an eye-opening overview of the bewitching legerdemain of high-end fashion. Perkins captured the models up close and personal: Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Roshumba Williams, and many others, in high pomp as well as unguarded circumstance. Quotes from fashion insiders provide a running commentary, and captions by Washington Post fashion writer Robin Givhan explain each image.

These 64 black-and-white and color photographs vividly depict the fashion editors, journalists, and stars whose high visibility makes Fashion Week such a spectacle, as well as the backstage preparations, hopes, and exacting protocol that undergird today’s elite runway modeling.

Tradition in Transition

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Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs

“In pre-revolutionary Russia, it wasn’t enough simply to create a devotional painting of the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus or a saint. These images needed to wear a fitted coat of gold or silver that partially covered the painting. It’s called an okladand some of the works featured in ‘Tradition in Transition’…possess these shimmering, halfway surreal coverings.”

– Robert L. Pincus, San Diego Union Tribune

“Whatever their origins, humble or exalted, these icons present Western viewers with a very different approach to prayer and faith.”

– Judy Wells, The Times-Union

Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs brings together 43 icons and oklads (icon covers) from three major private collections, including that of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. On tour for the first time, these works ranged from humble, roughly painted wooden icons of the peasant class to luxurious examples made of ivory or painted enamels and housed in gold or silver covers embellished with pearls and precious jewels.

Whether gilded or jeweled, or merely painted on plain wood, icons (sacred images of Christ, Mary, or the saints) were an essential spiritual aid for the Orthodox faithful: a focus for prayer and devotion and a conduit for divine mediation. Before the Romanovs, Russian icons hewed fairly closely to their stark Byzantine counterparts (simple lines, a flat aspect, elongated facial features), but with the ascension of the Westward-looking Tsar Peter the Great in the late 17th century, the influence of the Italian Renaissance brought a new realism, opulence, and spatial depth to their imagery. As a result, most of the Byzantine strictures gradually fell away, and by the 18thcentury elaborate icons set with jewels, pearls, and precious metals were being commissioned by the upper classes as valuable artworks in themselves. After the Bolshevik Revolution in the early 20th century, the Russian state began to divest itself of its “decadent” religious trappings, many of which were intentionally destroyed; but collectors (such as American heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post) were fortunate to be able to salvage some of the finest examples of the art of the icon.

Tradition in Transition was organized by the Hillwood Museum & Gardens in collaboration with the Steinhardt-Sherlock Trust and toured by International Arts & Artists.

Tradition Transformed

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Tradition Transformed: Contemporary Korean Ceramics

“The scale of the ceramic pieces in the exhibition is huge and there is a quiet startling exposition of many different approaches and techniques. The effect is mind-blowing and one turns with amazement from piece to piece thinking, as potters do, how beautiful / amazing this is and how is it made?”

– Pauline Roberts, Ceramics Ireland

“Exciting, adventurous and modern without being off the wall . . . There is everything here—imagination, power, vulnerability—and always the artist’s deep involvement with the clay.”

– Liz Baird, Belfast Telegraph

Tradition Transformed brings the finest of contemporary Korean ceramics to the countries of Europe. Represented are 29 contemporary Korean ceramic artists whose pieces incorporate traditional techniques with new influences and innovative methods to create provocative new sculpture. The exhibition includes 87 large- and small-scale works from the 1990s through 2006, many of them created especially for the tour.

This enchanting exhibition is a journey from the past into the present, recalling the history and beauty of the rolling hills and pastoral countryside of Korea; while the fresh designs, bold color, and geometric shapes dancing on the works express the inventive and modern spirit of the Korean people.

Tradition Transformed was made possible by the generous support of The Korea Foundation, Seoul, with additional support from the Korean Craft Promotional Foundation, Seoul, and the Han, Hyang Lim Gallery and the Jay Lee Collection, Seoul.