Multiple Modernisms

From the curator

“I wanted this presentation to show the breadth and depth of the Museum’s collection. It was important to show there are alternate narratives to the history of contemporary art because not all artists or genres were or are embraced within the canon. Art history is fluid and constantly being revised. I wanted to highlight that.”

– Kimberli Gant, McKinnon Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art.

Multiple Modernisms is guided by six themes including Sculpted Figures, The Gesture, Invoking Geometry, Refined Dynamism, Layered Perspectives and (Hyper) Reality. Sculpted Figures features three-dimensional interpretations of the human body. The Gesture presents works that emphasize the artist’s expressive mark on the canvas. In Invoking Geometry, viewers see images of shapes and patterns.

Refined Dynamism focuses on works about movement within a restrained color palette, while Layered Perspectives presents artistic interpretations of major events, symbols, mythology, and society. (Hyper) Reality includes works presenting an extreme version of reality. “By organizing the exhibition by themes, viewers will see how artists were influenced by each other, could create similar or conflicting perspectives on the same event and experimented with the same techniques or ideas across time and geography,” said Gant.