January 6, 2021
The expression of motion within the still life of black and white photography embodies the curious nature of forms that are simultaneously static and dynamic. Through a conversation between art and science, this installation of recent acquisitions in photography considers the motion of life as a process in natural and built environments and seeks to explore simplistic and entropic experiences. Developed by a team of undergraduate students nominated by faculty for their combined interest in art and science, these images represent their intersectional interest and serve as a visual representation between the interplay of art and science. Curated by Macy […]
October 8, 2020
Looking is a very complex process—nearly as complex as seeing. It requires that we let go of what we know, so we can open ourselves to what we see. Or, as American artist Robert Irwin said, “Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees.” Works of art are never merely mimetic representations, but rather entities in their own right. A visual language gives art its power regardless of whether or not we can name the thing we are looking at. Works of art always involve aspects of abstraction. To this extent, the notion of representation is false. What […]
January 28, 2020
Curated by the nine William & Mary students in Professor Xin Conan-Wu’s class The Curatorial Project, Scales of Chaos: The Dance of Art & Contemporary Science presented fresh ways of reading art, and of artworks that embody a sensible intuition of complex phenomena. Scales of Chaos: The Dance of Art & Contemporary Science was originally scheduled to open on April 17 in our first floor Sheridan gallery. Professor Conan-Wu and the students in The Curatorial Project quickly adapted after the university’s suspension of in-person instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They accomplished all curatorial tasks, recorded videos discussing the featured works […]
January 15, 2020
American Vision: A Tribute to Carroll Owens, Jr. was originally scheduled to run from February 8 through April 7, 2020. In light of current conditions the Museum has extended the exhibition through January 10, 2021. The Muscarelle Museum of Art is a fortunate beneficiary of The Owens Foundation here at William & Mary. The Foundation was created and facilitated by Carroll Owens, Jr., W&M ‘62 and his wife, Patrisia B. Owens, W&M ’62. The Owens Foundation generously provides support to departments on the campus as well as awarding the Monroe scholarship to one undergraduate student per class. One of the […]
January 15, 2020
In Focus was originally scheduled to run from February 8 through April 7, 2020. In light of current conditions the Museum has extended the exhibition through October 11, 2020. The Museum strives to build the collection in meaningful and strategic ways, including a commitment to inclusivity and representation. It became apparent during a survey of the greater collection that photography remains an under-represented media in the Museum’s overall holdings. With this knowledge and the 2015 launch of the photography program at William & Mary, the Muscarelle is pleased to announce we have seen growth in this area due to generous […]
January 17, 2020
This exhibition marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first documented African slaves in Colonial Virginia that, while part of the greater narrative of slavery in the Americas, helped to set into motion the ongoing repercussions of this historical event. As a contemporary response to the 1619 commemoration in Virginia, 1619 / 2019 featured art works from African American and Native American emergent and established artists in a variety of media expressing a complexity of experience, addressing the past and present. Participating artists included Sonya Clark, Nell Painter, Katrina Andry, Sedrick Huckaby, Preston Jackson, Delita Martin, Jerushia Graham, […]
October 9, 2019
Faculty Show 14 highlighted the diverse talents of the William & Mary studio instructors and emeritus professors in a variety of media including drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics and installation art. A long-standing collaboration between the Museum and the Department of Art & Art History, participating artists included William Barnes, David Campbell, Lewis Cohen, Suzanne Demeo, Michael Draeger, Eliot Dudik, Michael Gaynes, Mike Jabbur, Marlene Jack, Brian Kreydatus, John Lee, Jayson Lowery, Elizabeth Mead, Edwin Pease, Kristen Peyton, and Nicole McCormick Santiago.
August 6, 2019
This exhibition considered neuro-aesthetics and brought first-hand experiential interaction with contemporary abstract works from a distinguished group of living artists composed of Michelle Benoit, Phil Chang, Stefan Chinov, Jaynie Crimmins, Sara Dochow, Diane Englander, Pamela Farrell, Karen Fitzgerald, Helen O’Leary, Lorraine Tady, Jo Volley and Susan York. The twelve invited artists make work that moves back and forth between two and three dimensions. Some are painters who work three dimensionally while others work in and across dimensions and mediums. Join the exhibition curator Elizabeth Mead, Professor of Art, W. Taylor Reveley Interdisciplinary Faculty Fellow, Department of Art & Art […]
March 15, 2019
Sankofa is an Adinkra symbol from Ghana, which translates as “to look into one’s past in order to move forward.” Sankofa: Looking Back, Moving Forward was composed of drawings and prints by artist Steve Prince. His work offers a candid look into America’s past and challenges us to look deeper for meaning and understanding of how we have collectively arrived at this juncture in history. The art challenges us to not only be cognitive of the history and the scars we have sustained, but also posits a message of hope for communal renewal if we dare work together to solve the […]