Show is one of the bests

by in At the Museums dept
“Color Real and Imagined,” 2014, by Carrie Mae Weems (b.1953) archival inkjet print with silkscreen color blocks, 54 3/4 x 38 3/4 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Gift of Laural Shackelford.

GAINESVILLE, FL (PNAN) – Going on view, “Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection” opens on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at the Harn Museum of Art, nearly forty works of masters, pioneers and trailblazers, in the exhibition represent a variety of mediums and techniques including painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed-media collage, prints and photographs.

“Vibes Penetrated,” 1983, by Betty Blayton (1937-2016) acrylic on canvas, diameter: 60 3/4 in. Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. Spelman College Purchase. © Estate of Betty Blayton.

Curated by Liz Andrews and Karen Comer Lowe with initial contributions from Anne Collins Smith, the works are divided into five sections that focus on the Spiral Group: abstraction, early figuration, contemporary photography, and contemporary figuration in the Gladys Gracy Harn Exhibition Hall. The show remains on view through July 6, 2025.

The show features works by a range of artists including Amalia Amaki, Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Firelei Báez, Herman “Kofi” Bailey, Romare Bearden, Betty Blayton, Beverly Buchanan, Selma Burke, Elizabeth Catlett, Floyd Coleman, Renee Cox, Myra Greene, Sam Gilliam, Glenn Ligon, Howardena Pindell, Lucille Malkia Roberts, Deborah Roberts, Faith Ringgold, Nellie Mae Rowe, Lorna Simpson, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Lina Iris Viktor, Carrie Mae Weems, Charles White, and Hale Woodruff.

About

Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman College has long been an important cultural hub. The historically Black liberal arts college for women began collecting objects in 1899, and in 1996 the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art opened with the mission to uplift art by and about women of the African diaspora. This goal directly reflects Spelman College’s dedication to academic excellence in education of women of African descent. In honor of the museum’s 25 years and the college’s much longer legacy of collecting art, the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art organized the anniversary exhibition Silver Linings with a selection of works from the 1900s until now from the permanent collection.