PITTSBURGH, PA (AAPNW) – For its 2022 season, the Carnegie Museum of Art has on schedule exhibitions that probe local concerns and national histories as part of the museum’s wider vision to present the work of living artists while engaging with the collection.
Opening on Thursday, March 3, “Working Thought” is a group show that will examine the ways in which contemporary artists have explored labor and economic inequality in America in their work across media.
Over 30 featured artists, including Fred Lonidier, who merges strategies of conceptual photography with activism; Margarita Cabrera, whose work invites the collaboration and involvement of immigrant communities; and Jessica Jackson Hutchins, whose kiln-fused glass works respond to contemporary issues, in addition to works by Theaster Gates, Cameron Rowland, Rodney McMillian, Jessica Vaughn, Andrea Bowers, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and many others.
As part of this show, Carnegie Museum of Art will present public programs that further connect art and labor with May Day (International Workers Day). On Thursday, April 21, 2022, from 6:00–9:00 pm, in the Hall of Architecture and throughout the exhibition galleries, artists and curators will come together in dialogue with visitors and regional musicians will perform contemporary interpretations of work songs.
On Saturday, April 23, 2022, beginning at 10:00 am in the Hall of Sculpture, artists in the exhibition will be partnered with local community organizations for collaborative art making in preparation for May Day.
A first on Saturday, March 26 in the Heinz Architectural Center is “Zoe Zenghelis” is a solo presentation of paintings by artist and founding member of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture/OMA. This show brings into dialogue Zenghelis’ independent painting practice with the collaborative projects of the architectural firm, OMA, and the teaching methods that she developed as an art educator. A highlight of this show will be a roundtable discussion and gallery tours, which is also open to the public, will take on Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 10:30 am.
Her practice has defied disciplinary classifications, resulting in works populated with buildings, fragments and abstract tectonics that construct worlds of imagination and longing. Seductive metropolitan formations blended into dystopian landscapes, floating buildings captured in disturbing stillness, and idle fields merged with urban grids; her work offers a contemplative critique of the built environment and a way of thinking about space through the medium of painting.
This exhibition on Saturday, April 30, “Gordon Parks in Pittsburgh, 1944/1946” provides an insightful view of World War II–era America. In March 1944 and September 1946, Gordon Parks traveled to Pittsburgh on assignment for the public relations department of the Standard Oil Company to photograph the Penola Grease Plant.
An established photographer known for his unparalleled humanist perspective, Parks was tasked with photographing the plant, its workers and the range of their activities manufacturing lubricants to support U.S. military efforts during World War II.
The resulting photographs were dramatically staged. Their striking compositions will have specific memories recalled by the Pittsburgh community, including local visitors might recognize acquaintances, friends or even family members in these images. The exhibition will also be paired with special programming and community events.
And on Saturday, September 24, 2022, the Carnegie International is America’s oldest and longest-running survey of contemporary art and the museum’s signature exhibition since 1896. This exhibition addresses the question of international from the local context of the United States.
The 58th Carnegie is under the directions of Sohrab Mohebbi, the Kathe and Jim Patrinos Curator and alongside a Pittsburgh-based curatorial team and an international curatorial council. Soon, the Museum will be announcing commissions, special projects and participating artists on a rolling schedule starting in Spring 2022.