Current and Upcoming Exhibitions

On-Line Exhibitions

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

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions

Traces of Time: Fossils from the Collection
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
July 25, 2009 – June 20, 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

Zap! Comix Prints by Robert Crumb
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
August 20 – December 13, 2009
Robert Crumb (American, born 1943), best known as “R. Crumb,” is considered the founder of the underground comix movement. In 1968 he published the first issue of Zap Comix in San Francisco, which featured Crumb’s notable “Keep on Truckin’” imagery and characters such as Mr. Natural and Flakey Foont.

Robert Crumb (American, born 1943), “Zap Comix #0,” 2007, screenprint on paper, image 21 x 15 inches, Museum purchase, funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2008.27.01 © Robert Crumb

Ansel Adams: The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
September 17 – December 6, 2009
Ansel Adams (American, 1902–1984) focused on the landscape of the American West in his renowned photographs. The exhibition features his black-and-white photographs, including some of his iconic images, such as “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico” and “Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California.” Also featured are photographs of the Denali National Park in Alaska and the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984), Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, (printed 1980), gelatin silver print, 18 1/2 x 11 inches, Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Peter G. Scotese, 1986.68.16, © 2009 Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.

John Cage: Zen Ox-Herding Pictures
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art and Print Study Center
October 2, 2009 – 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

Moments of Change: Prints by Jackie Battenfield
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
October 21 to December 13, 2009
This selection of works on paper features collages, monotypes, woodcuts, and screenprints by contemporary New York artist Jackie Battenfield (American, born 1950). Known for her luminous colors and gestural approach to creating work, she explores the abstract qualities of the landscape, delving into the forces of nature, changes in weather, the passage of time, and the fluidity of water in this exhibition dedicated to her graphic work.

Jackie Battenfield (American, born 1950), Mizu: Zabun-Zabun (wave), 1993, mixed media collage mounted on paper, image: 6 x 24, sheet: 22 x 28 inches. Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of the artist, M1993.01.02.

Coins of the Ancient World
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
New installation opens November 6, 2009
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.

Transformations: Inuit Sculptures from the Collection
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
Through November 15, 2009
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.

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.

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

Woman as Image, Objects from the Collection: Museum Studies Seminar Exhibition
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
April 8 – June 13, 2010
In conjunction with the statewide celebration Minds Wide Open, Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts, the exhibition is presented by students enrolled in the Seminar in Museum Studies during the 2010 spring semester. The course is offered in the University’s Department of Art and Art History as part of the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Arts Management.

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.