Current and Upcoming Exhibitions

On-Line Exhibitions

Past Exhibitions
- Harnett Museum of Art
- Harnett Print Study Center
- Lora Robins Gallery

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions

Coins of the Ancient World
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
New permanent installation
Coins originated in the seventh century B.C.E. and have been vital storytellers of past monetary systems and cultural history since that time. The two sides of every coin hold a wealth of information about humanity’s past including civilization’s political, religious, and iconographic progress. This permanent installation showcases coins from the collection and highlights the Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, and Byzantine cultures.

Victories, Orbs, & Angels: Byzantine Coins from the Collection
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
through March 21, 2010
On display are more than twenty-five coins from the museum’s permanent collection that demonstrate how Roman pagan motifs were adapted on bronze and gold Byzantine Christian coins from the beginning of the fifth century to the eleventh century.

Theodosius II (Byzantine, 401-450), Solidus, circa 408-450, gold, 7/8 inch diameter, Gift of Dr. Pliny A. Price, R1980.16.014

John Cage: Zen Ox-Herding Pictures
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art and Print Study Center
through April 7, 2010
John Cage (American, 1912-1992) was a seminal composer, philosopher, writer, and visual artist whose interest in East Asian and Indian philosophy led him to abandon intention, memory, and personal taste to focus instead on process and chance in music, performance, and visual art. The exhibition features fifty watercolors on small paper towels were created in 1988 at the Mountain Lake Workshop, Virginia.

John Cage (American, 1912-1992) and Mountain Lake Workshop, Zen Ox-Herding Pictures: Set One, Number 9, 1988, watercolor on paper, 9 ¾ x 10 ¼ inches, Private collection, © reproduced by permission of the John Cage Trust at Bard College

Transformations: Inuit Sculptures from the Collection
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
Through June 20, 2010
Inuit sculpture is deeply rooted in tradition, steeped in storytelling, and offers a glimpse into the daily lives of the Inuit people. Highlighting the continuity and transformation of the art of the Inuit, the exhibition features a selection of contemporary Inuit sculptures, including objects from a recent gift of Virginia A. Arnold to the museum.

Osuitok Ipeelee (1923 -2005, Inuit, Cape Dorset [Kingait], Nunavut), Caribou, 1990, stone and caribou antler, Gift of Virginia A. Arnold, R2007.06.08. photograph © Taylor Dabney.

Traces of Time: Fossils from the Collection
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
through October 24, 2010
The exhibition explores different prehistoric environments with examples of fossil plants and animals from the collection. The specimens show some of the similarities and differences between earlier earth environments and modern ecosystems. Highlights include fossils from the Green River Formation in the United States and the Santana Formation in Brazil. Also included are flora and fauna that were native to what is now Virginia and the mid-Atlantic region, such as the Pliocene scallop Chesapecten jeffersonius.

Xiphactinus audax (bulldog fish fossil), Leidy, 1870, Late Cretaceous period (100 to 65 million years ago), Gove County, Kansas, 21 x 30 ½ x 4 inches, Museum purchase, R0000.42.01

Rincon Falls, Trinidad: A Print Series by Chris Ofili
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
January 12 to July 11, 2010
Chris Ofili (British, born 1968) explores contemporary black experience in his work using references from traditional African art, images of popular culture, and influences from hip-hop music. He recently moved to Trinidad from Britain and has been inspired by its predominantly black culture. Rincon Falls is a waterfall on the north coast of Trinidad.

Chris Ofili (British, born 1968), Grey Bathers, from the series Rincon Falls, Trinidad, 2008, etching with color spit bite, sugar lift aquatint, and drypoint on paper. Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase, funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2009.04.04

Slightly Unbalanced
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
January 26 to March 4, 2010
The exhibition presents art focused on a range of psychological tendencies, including anxiety, obsessive behavior, depression, and narcissism. It features work by twenty nationally and internationally known artists, such as Louise Bourgeois, Sophie Calle, Mike Kelley, Bruce Nauman, Tony Oursler, and Cindy Sherman. In their work, the artists question what constitutes normalcy and what qualifies as neurosis, a slippery and suggestive endeavor.

Louise Bourgeois (French, born 1911), Femme (Woman), 2005, bronze with silver-nitrate patina, 13 x 16 ½ x 7 ¾ inches, Collection of the artist; courtesy of Cheim & Read, New York, © Louise Bourgeois.

Surface Tension: Pattern, Texture, and Rhythm in Art from the Collection
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
March 20 to May 14, 2010
Drawn from the collections of the Harnett Museum of Art and Print Study Center the exhibition features art in which pattern, texture, and rhythm are the primary elements that generate energy and visual movement as well as emotional and aesthetic content. Highlights include a vibrant screenprint by Op artist Victor Vasarely from 1975, photographs of patterns found in natural objects by Life magazine photographer Andreas Feininger, and densely composed screenprints depicting the four seasons by contemporary artist Jennifer Bartlett.

Victor Vasarely (French, born Hungary, 1908-1997), Pengo-Z, 1975, screenprint on paper, image 16 ¼ x 16 ¼ inches, The I. Web Surratt, Jr. Print Collection, M1996.01.66 © Estate of Victor Vasarely

Best in Show: Staffordshire Dogs from the Collection
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
April 9, 2010 – September 25, 2011
Displayed on the mantelpieces of Victorian homes, Staffordshire dogs have today become one of the most popular pieces of collectable ceramics. Since the 1720s, ceramic dogs had been produced by pottery factories in Staffordshire, England, along with other popular figurines, such as shepherds, royalty, and a variety of animals. The Staffordshire spaniel is tied to the history of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, known as a favorite breed to the British monarchs, and the dog figurines became the quintessential Victorian decoration and popular artistic motif in paintings and pottery throughout Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901). Staffordshire also produced pottery in the likeness of other dog breeds including dalmations, poodles, pugs, and greyhounds.

Senior Thesis Exhibition
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
April 16 – May 7, 2010
Selected by the studio art faculty to participate in the thesis exhibition program, graduating senior studio art majors present their artwork in this exhibition.