January 19 —March 16, 2008

BEYOND BOUNDARIES: CONTEMPORARY FIBER ART

Rooted in traditional textile studies, Lanny Bergner, Yvonne Pacanovsky Bobrowicz, Nancy Koenigsberg, Rebecca Medel, Warren Seelig and Tsuguo Yanai are far from traditional weavers. The significant commonality amongst these six artists is their visionary use of materials, more specifically industrial and synthetic materials.  Bobrowicz weaves monofilament into dancing cosmic glory; Bergner twines industrial screening creating futuristic cocoons; Koenigsberg manipulated wire mimicking subtle folded fabric; Medel creates monolith suspended forms, resembling ancient portals, using traditional fishnet making techniques; Seelig explores the idea’s of light and shadow, void of any organic material.  Yanai, renowned Japanese paper maker has created portraits of famous 20th century figures. These portrait busts, which at first glance resemble lava rock, are actually hand-made paper over wire structures.

Lanny Bergner

October 13—January 6, 2008

Treasured Pages. Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
from the Free Library of Philadelphia

Drawing on one of the most significant US collection of Western European illuminated manuscripts, the exhibition addresses both subject matter and use, namely Ritual, Devotion and Prayer; Learning and Leisure; Politics and Law, and the Bible. Guest Curated by Lynn Ransom in collaboration with the Rare Book Department
in cooperation with the Dean Ann Matter, School of Arts and Sciences, and the Penn Library.

July 28—September 23, 2007

The Mennonites:
Photographs by Larry Towell

Hitoshi Nakazato:
Print Series

May 12 – July 1, 2007

Celebration of this artist Master Printmaker and veteran curator at the Arthur Ross Gallery, who has worked and taught for forty years at GSFA and the School of Design.

DRAMATIC IMPRESSIONS
JAPANESE THEATER PRINTS
From the Gilbert Luber Collection

This exhibition places the works produced between 1916-1929 of Shunsen (1886-1960),a brilliant designer of woodblock portraits of Kabuki Theater actors in the context of prints created as much as a century earlier in Osaka. By focusing on representations of theater and actors, early modern printmakers developed a vocabulary of visual forms recreating the effects of staging, pose, make-up, and costume.

Modern Indian Works on Paper
Post-Independence Art from a Private Collection

January 13—March 11, 2007

Traveling exhibition features 64 modern and contemporary owned by Umesh and Sunanda Gaur, who were featured on the cover of the March 2003 Art and Antiques “Top 100 collectors” issue.In collaboration with Professor Michael Meister, Department of the History of Art and support from the South Asia Center and Art History.

Francisco Goya y Lucientes: Los Caprichos
An Early Edition from the Collection of
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Ross

This complete set of 80 first-edition prints celebrates the 25th anniversary of associations between the Arthur Ross Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania. With support from Friends of the Arthur Ross Gallery.

Modern Latin American Culture. Annemarie Heinrich Grande Dame of Argentinian Photography

August 26 — October 15, 2006

Between 1930 and 1993, German-born photographer Annemarie Heinrich was the main protagonist in Argentine photography, famous for her portraits of artists and stars that epitomize the heyday of radio and the ascent of the movie industry in Argentina. Experimenting with lighting effects and double exposures, she contributed to such diverse fields as ballet, fashion, landscape, and nude photography. In cooperation with the Centro Cultural Recoleta and the Rozenblum Foundation, Buenos Aires. Made possible with a generous grant from Rajendra and Neera Singh.

Beauties and Other New Work
Photographs by Evelyn H. Lauder

June 17, 2006 — July 16, 2006

Benefit exhibition underwritten by Phoenix Insurance, Lauder’s photographs of objects taken in natural sunlight explore the mood and changing composition created by light and shadow. Evelyn Lauder has exhibited nationally and internationally and participated in two juried shows organized at ARG in collaboration with the (then) University of Pennsylvania Cancer (Confronting Cancer Through Art). All proceeds from this traveling exhibition are donated The Breast
Cancer Research Foundation, which supports the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn.

The Early Modern Painter-Etcher

April 15, 2006—June 11, 2006

In the early sixteenth century, the etching process made printmaking, long the province of trained professionals or metal smiths, available to artists already famous in other fields but novices in this medium. The exhibition highlights the distinctive relationship between etching and other media and features prints, from public and private collections, by Brueghel, Caravaggio, Rubens, and Bloemaert, who each only made one etching, and other painters. Guest Curated by Professor Michael Cole, Madeleine Viljoen, and students in the Halpern-Rogath Curatorial Seminar of the Department of the History of Art, the exhibition will travel to the Ringling Museum, Sarasota, and Smith College Museum.

Antique Anatolian Carpets
Masterpieces from Philadelphia Collections

January 21, 2006 — April 2, 2006

The Ottoman and Seljuk courts were noted for producing magnificent carpets and luxurious textiles; refined examples influenced by Royal patronage will be displayed alongside more stylized versions of village and nomadic carpets from the 17th to the 19th centuries in this second “Masterpieces” exhibition organized by alumnus Dennis R. Dodds, M.Arch., M.C.P. Exploring the historic legacy of tribes who established weaving traditions in Anatolia, the selection provides evidence of distinctive styles developed in certain regions being adopted into the design vocabulary of village weavers in different areas and relationships between motifs in architecture and other Islamic art as they appear especially in prayer rugs.

Mapping the Pacific Coast: Coronado to Lewis and Clark. The Quivira Collection

September 24, 2005—January 9, 2006

Early maps and prints, dating from 1544 to 1801, illustrate the discoveries and fantasies that led up to Jefferson’s decision 200 years ago to commission the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean. From the collection of Henry Wendt, in cooperation with the Sonoma County Museum, Santa Rosa, California.

Whimsical Work
The Playful Designs of Charles and Ray Eames

July 23 - September 11, 2005

Featuring toys, children’s furniture, and quirky films, along with photographs chronicling their history and creation, this exhibition focuses on the famous husband and wife design team’s serious approach to playful things. Charles and Ray Eames are best known for the molded plywood and plastic furniture they introduced to America in the 1940s. Organized in cooperation with the Eames office by students in the Halpern-Rogath Curatorial Seminar supported by Penn’s Department of Art History and taught by Professor George H. Marcus for the Masters of Liberal Arts Program of the College of General Studies.

Textiles of the Burma Hills

April 23 – June 26, 2005

Traditional textiles provide a window into minority cultures of the hill tribes of present–day Myanmar.  Produced by four ethnic clusters, steadily being destroyed through assimilation, these textiles served as clothing and also as badges of identity, and status symbols.  From the collections of David and Barbara Fraser, Philadelphia, and Denison University, which has the largest institutional collection in the United States.

July 9 - August 9, 2004

In the tradition of the café as a place where ideas are raised and discussed, the Gallery becomes an open forum for visitors to interact with and respond to intangibles and nonexistent objects. Presented as part of “The Big Nothing,” a constellation of independent programs and projects by 36 museums spearheaded by the Institute of Contemporary Art.

51 drawings and watercolors from many of the 19th century’s most prominent artists including Degas, Cézanne, Pissaro, Rodin, Tissot and Ruskin.

Antique Rugs of The Turkmen Tribes: Masterpieces from Philadelphia Private Collections

January 17—April 4, 2004

Rarely exhibited due to their large size and considered primary signifiers of tribal identity, “main carpets” from 1800-75 reserved for ceremonial occasions are displayed along with engsis, storage bags, and trappings.
Curated by Dennis R. Dodds, M. Arch. '73, M. C. P. '74.

Resurrection. Belkis Ayón (1967-1999), Collographs from Cuba

October 10—January 25, 2004

Large-scale prints inspired by the creation myth of the secret Abakúa society exemplify the vitality and influence of contemporary Afro-Cuban art. In collaboration with the Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia and the cooperation of Rosenberg Fine Art.

Viewpoints. Nine Faculty Photographers

August 28-October 5, 2003

Works by featured artists reflect current developments in the art of photography. Invitational exhibition further reflects recent growth in this popular School of Design (Formerly Graduate School of Fine Arts) department.

History Through Deaf Eyes

June 3-July 28, 2003

Traveling exhibition organized by Gallaudet University to include artifacts from local institutions, documenting the American experience of the deaf over a period of more than a century. In cooperation with The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, one of the oldest such institutions.

Steve McCurry: South Southeast

March 15-May 25, 2003

The photographic journal by Magnum photographer, Steve McCurry, covers the region from Afghanistan to the west through Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh to Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia in the East.

Darkwater: Recital in Four Dominions
Terry Adkins After W.E.B. DuBois

December 14, 2002-March 2, 2003

"Darkwater" is a site inspired exhibition by internationally renowned artist and associate professor of sculpture Terry Adkins, in tribute to W.E.B Du Bois the scholar, poet and activist. The show's title comes from Du Bois' Book "Darkwater: Voices within the veil," which was published in 1920 as a companion piece to "Souls of Black Folk" (1903). Adkins examines Du Bois and his work by way of four "dominions": sculpture, prints, documents, and music, all of them relating to Du Bois' literary output and contributions.

POSTERS/POSTERS/POSTERS. Twenty Years of Gallery Graphics

August 23 - September 8, 2002
Striking graphics by talented students and seasoned graphic designers communicate the diversity and eclecticism of more than two decades of exhibitions at the Arthur Ross Gallery.

North Americans in the Aegean Bronze Age:
The Discovery of Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations

January 5 - March 25, 2002

A visual history, including drawings, archival photographs, and objects excavated by University of Pennsylvania archaeologists and others throughout the twentieth century. In cooperation with the Institute for Aegean Prehistory.

September 1 - December 9, 2001

Traveling exhibition curated at the Arthur Ross Gallery from a private collection. Includes representative works by 46 artists born between 1871 and 1940. Also 19 previously unpublished ex voto paintings. Full-color catalogue distributed by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Partners in Education/
Partners in Art

June 27 - August 5, 2001

Mural project by school pairings in the city and suburbs. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Partners Program of the University of Pennsylvania.

Transformation:
Jews and Modernity

April 24 - June 17, 2001

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century works on paper from major museums and private collections exemplify modernity as a period of transformation in the arts, in nations, and in identity. Curated by Professor Larry Silver and associates as part of a year-long symposium exploring Modern Jews and the Arts at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. Catalogue distributed by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Jon Schueler. About the Sky

February 2 - April 15, 2001

Oil paintings by this abstract expressionist who was a navigator in World War II and later spent much of his time living in Scotland on the Sound of Sleat. Organized by Rebecca Massey Lane, Sweet Briar College, in cooperation with Magda Salvesen, New York City. Catalogue.

New Media/ New Faces/ New Directions

November 10 - January 14, 2001

Invitational exhibition showcasing work in a variety of media by recent and new arrivals in the Department of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania and established members of the graduate faculty.

REPROS: Photographs by Sylvia Plachy

September 2 - October 29, 2000

Photographs by Hungarian-born photographer, Sylvia Plachy, whose"Unguided Tour" ran for many years in The Village Voice, capture the many ways we as humans impose and reflect style and styles on the world around us. Curated by Professor Wendy Steiner, Director of the Penn Humanities Forum whose 2000-2001 theme is "Style."

On the Brink of the Twentieth Century. The Architecture of William L. Price. From Arts & Crafts to Modernism

May 5 - August 6, 2000

This Philadelphia architect (1861-1916) trained in the office of Frank Furness and became a leading designer of reinforced concrete buildings, such as Atlantic City's Traymore and Blenheim Hotels. Guest curated by George Thomas, Ph.D., in cooperation with Penn's Architectural Archives and Graduate School of Fine Arts.

Edward Lear's Greece 1848-1868

March 3 - April 23, 2000

From the Gennadeion Collections
Drawings and watercolors by Edward Lear on loan from the collection of the Gennadius Library, Athens, illustrate the writer-painter's journeys through a large area of present-day Greece. In cooperation with the American School of Classical Studies and Princeton Art Museum. Catalogue.

Treasures of Uzbekistan: The Great Silk Road

November 9, 1999 - February 15, 2000

First loan of objects from museums all over Uzbekistan, dating from the Bronze Age to the present century, includes textiles, tiles, ceramics, architectural elements, and frescos. Guest curated by Professor Fredrik Hiebert of The University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Confronting Cancer Through Art

September 14 - October 31, 1999

A juried exhibition of works in a variety of media by forty-five artists whose lives have been touched by cancer—their own or the illness of a loved one.

Inevitable Progression I

July 21 - August 16, 1999

An exhibition featuring sculpture, photography, mixed media and video installations by six artists: Jackie Brookner, Matt Freedman, Yikwon Kim, Young-Sun Lim, Nigel Rolfe, and James W. Sullivan.

Awakening: Technology and Imagination

June 19 - July 18, 1999

An exhibition of cyberart by Scott Caruthers, presented by Museum Events, Inc.

L. N. Cottingham 1787-1847. Architect of the Gothic Revival in England and Ireland

January 16-March 21, 1999

Drawings, watercolors, and plans by this British architect, restorer, medieval archaeologist, collector, and conservationist.

Robeson Remembered

December 17, 1998 - January 11, 1999

A commemoration of the centenary of Robeson's birth with materials loaned by Charles L. Blockson and the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University.

Sargent to Freud: Modern British Paintings and Drawings in The Beaverbrook Art Gallery

October 16 - December 13, 1998

Paintings and drawings from the collection assembled by Canadian press magnate Lord Beaverbrook. Co-curated by Ian Lumsden and Richard Shone, with support from the Arthur Ross Foundation and The Beaverbrook Foundation.