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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

Contempt for the New

On view through July 26, 2009

Curated by Chief Curator Marina Pacini
Over the past two centuries, artists who have sought to break with tradition have often been met with outrage from the public. In 19th century France, the Impressionists were excluded from the annual Salon exhibitions. The early 20th century Expressionists were labeled "wild beasts." Critics bemoaned Pop artists for destroying the distinction between high and low art. However, decades later, these same artists are now considered essential figures in the history of art.

This exhibition explores the shifting, sometimes contemptuous attitudes towards new art.
Contempt for the New, features artists as varied as Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, Jackson
Pollock, Mel Ramos, William Eggleston, and Andres Serrano, among others.

Jackson Pollock
American, 1912-1956
Number 9, 1951
Silk screen 19/25 (O’Conner/Thaw)
Gift of Art Today 57.10

Brooks Introduces

On view through August 2, 2009

Rhodes College graduate Alexandra Carter's paintings explore issues of
feminism, as informed by pop culture and art history.

Exhibition Sponsors
Foundation Grant administered through Arts Memphis.

Alexandra Carter
Piggybacker, 2009.
Ink on drafting film. Collection of the artist.

In Celebration: Carl Gutherz

May 30 - August 30, 2009

Trained in the French Academic tradition, Carl Gutherz was one of the few artists of international note who lived and worked in Memphis, and the Mississippi valley, in the second half of the 19th century. In celebration of the publication of Carl Gutherz: Poetic Vision and Academic Ideals, a selection of the artist's work, drawn from the museum's permanent collection, will be on display in two galleries during the summer month. It will highlight paintings from various stages of Gutherz's career, including two recently conserved works.

Carl Gutherz
Light of the Incarnation (Lux Incarnationis), 1888
Oil on canvas 77" x 114"
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall F. Goodheart 68.11.1

The Prints of Jacob Lawrence, 1963 – 2000

June 20 – September 6, 2009

Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York

Exhibition Sponsors
The First Tennessee Foundation Bravo Series
James K. Patterson and Rushton E. Patterson, Jr.
Elliot and Kimberly Perry
Family Day Sponsor
The Macy’s Foundation
With Additional Support from
The UPS Foundation
Cummins, Inc.

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) is recognized around the world for his compassionate images of the historic struggles of African Americans. Raised in Harlem and inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, he came to prominence when his series of paintings, The Migration, was exhibited in New York in 1941 and subsequently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art and the Phillips Collection. This exhibition of 81 etchings, woodcuts, silkscreens, and lithographs are from the artist’s estate.

Community Supporters
Club 152
Arcade Restaurant
Automatic Slim's
Beignet Café
Blue City Café
Brown Baguette Bakery Café
BB King's Blues Club
The Blue Monkey
Bosco's Squared
Café Ecletic
Common Ground Coffee Bar
Currents at River Inn of Harbor Town
The Edge Coffeehouse
Equestria Restaurant & Lounge
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Folk's Folly Prime Cut Shoppe
Frank Grisanti's
The Grove Grill
High Point Coffee (All locations)
Hi-Tone Café
Huey's (All locations)
Java Cabana
Kudzu's
La Baguette
Memphis Pizza Café (All locations)
Miss Polly's Soul City Café
Molly's la Casita
Napa Café
Otherlands Coffee Bar
Paulette's Restaurant
Quetzal
Republic Coffee
Ruth's Chris Steak House
Soul Fish Café
Square Beans Coffee Company
The Edge Coffee House
Tsunami
Young Avenue Deli

For more information on events in conjunction with this exhibition click here

Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917-2000)
The 1920’s . . . The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots, 1974
Silkscreen, edition of 150 with 15 AP

Associated American Artists, Prints of Mexico, 1937-1950

Through November 8, 2009

Curated by Chief Curator Marina Pacini

The 26 prints on view were commissioned from American, French, and Mexican artists by Reeves Lewenthal, founder of Associated American Artists (f.1934). They document contemporary life Mexican while acknowledging the pre-Columbian history of the country. Inspired by the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) and the Mexican muralist painters, the prints of tortilla makers, farmers, and fruit vendors celebrate the working class.

Miguel Covarrubias, (Mexican, 1904- 1957)

Mexican Street Scene, 1943

Lithograph; edition of 250 published by the AAA

Jack Grue in Print and Miniature

Through Nov. 15, 2009

Curated by Associate Registrar Marilyn Masler

For nearly sixteen years, Jack Grue worked in Memphis producing prints, watercolors, and delicately executed miniatures until his death in 1956. A Russian immigrant, he received art training in Kiev and Vienna, and worked with theatrical producer Max Reinhardt before arriving in the United States in 1939. He is best remembered for his miniatures which were shown nationally and internationally. Grue's subjects ranged from portraits and still lifes to biblical scenes and regional landscapes and streetscapes. The artist also accepted commissions for two large scale projects in Memphis: a mural for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and stained glass windows for the Baron Hirsch Synagogue at its former site in Midtown. Included in this exhibition are a selection of Grue's distinctive miniatures and a portfolio of woodcuts he completed in 1954 illustrating The Caliph and the Sinner by Russian writer Vlas Doroshevich (1864-1922).

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