Tradition Interrupted Opens

August 19 - November 12, 2023. Eldredge, Spratlen, and Armstrong Galleries.

Please join us for Tradition Interrupted, an international group exhibition that explores the methods used by artists to conflate contemporary ideas with traditional art and craft in a range of media, from rugs and mosaics to metalwork and ceramics. The 12 featured artists merge age-old media and technique with innovation, and re-visioning culturally historic ideas to create new work that interrupt traditional practice but still collaborates with the past. 

This traveling exhibition features 23 works including sculpture, installation art, and 2-D objects. Featured artists hail from around the world and include: Anila Quayyum Agha (Pakistan), Faig Ahmed (Azerbaijan), Camille Eskell (U.S.), Mounir Fatmi (Morocco), Ana Gómez (Mexico), Shirin Hosseinvand (Iran), Dinh Q. Lê (Vietnam), Steven Young Lee (U.S.), Jaydan Moore (U.S.), Ramekon O’Arwisters (U.S.), Jason Seife (U.S.), and Masami Teraoka (Japan). 

Tradition Interrupted was organized by Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA. Major support for this exhibition is provided by Melinda J. McDaniel Charitable Trust, UW, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

PUBLIC PROGRAM

Slow Viewing with Shauna LeAnn Smith:
Wednesday, August 23, 6:00 PM

Join us for Slow Viewing of F-Ezra Made a Woman by Camille Eskell in Tradition Interrupted. Slow Viewing is a supportive practice for anyone who wants to develop their skills of interpretation, observation, and discussing art. Guests spend an hour carefully observing and speaking about the works on view, resulting in a deeper understanding of how they and others relate to the artwork and to each other. This program is facilitated by artist Shauna LeAnn Smith. This program is free, but space in-gallery is limited so registration is required.

Interactive Sculpture By Hank Willis Thomas Installed

On view now.

In late July, the Museum installed the newly acquired interactive sculpture Ernest and Ruth by Hank Willis Thomas on the Hatch Foundation Lawn. Thomas is a prominent contemporary Black artist who uses photography, sculpture, and installation work to explore issues of identity, history, race, class, and popular culture. 

His work has been exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally and is also in numerous public collections including The Brooklyn Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and now – your very own Springfield Art Museum. 

Ernest and Ruth – named after Thomas’ grandparents - is both a sculpture and a bench shaped like a cartoon speech bubble. It offers visitors a place to sit, to rest, and to interact with the work and with each other. It literally puts the public in public art. While seated on the bench, the viewer becomes “enclosed” in the speech bubble. The work invites dialogue about art and promotes discourse and listening. Thomas says, “When viewers occupy the piece, they are encouraged to contemplate what it means to inhabit their own speech and beliefs.”

This work was purchased, by exchange, through gifts of Ronald K., Robert C., and Larry H. Greenburg. Prior to this acquisition, the Museum had no work by Hank Willis Thomas in the collection.

Additional Discounts In Our Summer Sale

Sale Ends August 13, 2023.

Take an additional 10% off of our sale prices, for discounts from 25 - 35% off, on merchandise from Dale Chihuly, Nick Cave, Fox & Chave, Howard's Jewelry, The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, Joey Borovicka, Jane Troup, James Dale Catron, and more.

Fresh Rotations in Creating an American Identity

Beginning August 30, 2023. Musgrave Wing.

Beginning August 30, nine new works will rotate onto view in Creating An American Identity, the semi-permanent exhibition of our permanent collection. Works by Janet Ballweg, Glyneisha Johnson, Linda Lopez, and the second configurations of work from our Exquisite Corpse portfolio - from the Tamarind Institute - will join the ongoing narrative of 18th Century American art to today, installed in the Musgrave Wing of the Museum. This rotation marks the first time that Johnson’s Cruisin’ Together and Lopez’s Shiner Dust Furry (Double) have been on view since they were on exhibit in 2021’s 4x4: Midwest Invitational Exhibition and Linda Lopez: Long Lost, respectively.

Temporary Gallery Closures

September 6 - September 10, 2023. 
Weisel and Kelly Galleries. Musgrave Wing.

The Weisel and Kelly Galleries and the Musgrave Wing of the Museum will be temporarily closed the week following Labor Day for gallery improvements ahead of the installation of the special exhibition Jordan Eagles: ONE BLOOD. The Eldredge, Spratlen, Armstrong, and Hartman Galleries will remain open and accessible to the public. The Musgrave Wing will re-open on Wednesday, September 13. The Weisel and Kelly Galleries will re-open on Saturday, September 23. We ask that you please plan your trip to  the Museum accordingly and we apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

On View

• Watercolor USA 2023  (Through September 3)
• Tradition Interrupted  (Opens August 19)
• Blue on White
• Creating an American Identity
• Survey of Ceramic Art
• Dale Chihuly: Autumn Persian & Feather Chandelier
• Anne Lindberg: titled sky
  
  For additional information, events, and educational programs, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org and don't forget to follow us on social media @sgfmuseum.