Since winning the MacArthur Foundation's "genius" fellowship in 1997, Kara Walker (b.1969) has garnered acclaim for her signature work with black cut-paper silhouettes. Subverting the twinning associations of shadows and silhouettes, Walker creates tableaus that stage alternative episodes from the African-American experience.
The exhibition is drawn from the permanent collection and focuses on representations of saints.
An intimate show of original collages by Romare Bearden that complements the sweeping exhibition From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden also on view in the Museum during the fall of 2009.
The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to better understand the graphic work of celebrated American artist Romare Bearden (1911-1988).
Spanning centuries and cultures, global connections are explored in this collections-based exhibition selected by Bowdoin’s Art History professors.
The American landscape genre is rich in tradition and innovation. Grounded is drawn from the Museum's permanent collection.
In accompaniment to Ars Antiqua: Ancient Pastimes and Passions, Ancient Art: Immortal Dreams will thematically explore the notion of “life after death” as it existed in ancient cultures. Using objects of ritual significance, Ancient Art: Immortal Dreams will probe into the complexities of human belief systems and polytheistic world views. In addition to portrait heads and funerary jewels and vessels, this exhibition will incorporate ancient Egyptian objects for comparison to the Greek and Roman objects included in the show.
Ars Antiqua: Ancient Pastimes and Passions explores the nature of ancient life and its reflections in the art of the ancient world. Thematic displays investigating the Mediterranean loves of music, athletic pursuits, theatre, and luxury will be on view, as will displays that delve into the ancient fascination with deities, and conversely, with the human form, figure, and identity. Drawing upon the Museum’s extensive store of ancient objects, Ars Antiqua: Ancient Pastimes and Passions will feature a rich selection of red- and black-figure pottery and votive sculpture, and examples of coins, cups, lamps, and jewelry.
The Assyrian relief sculptures in this exhibition are some of the most extraordinary pieces in the Bowdoin collection. Carved at the behest of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II in the 9th century BCE, these stone panels once decorated the walls of the royal palace in the king’s new capital at ancient Kalhu.
Located in the Pavilion, the exhibition documents the design and construction of the renovated Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
