Eating Wonderland: Recent Work by Sue Johnson
February 8 to June 15, 2008
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
In her latest artwork, contemporary artist Sue Johnson (American, born 1957) addresses themes of food, consumption, marketing, and mass production in her ceramic castings of dinnerware and popular foodstuffs. Along with her drawings and digital collages, this exhibition features work that explores the creation and use of imagery in popular culture, the influence of context on these images, and how simple manipulations can result in humor, aversion, and complex commentaries on contemporary society.   

Sue Johnson (American, born 1957), Jell-O Surprise (fawn) from the Incredible Edibles series (surrounded by other sculptures from the series), 2007, slip-cast vitreous china, 3 1⁄2 x 9 1⁄2 x 9 1⁄2 inches, Collection of the artist (created in Arts/Industry residency program, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and funded by Kohler Company, Kohler, Wisconsin)

2008 Harnett Biennial of American Prints
March 28 to June 6, 2008
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
The eighth national Harnett Biennial is a celebration and examination of contemporary printmaking in the United States. The juror is artist and master printer James Stroud, founder and director of Center Street Studio, Milton, Massachusetts.

Wayne Miyamoto (American, born 1947), Ekolu Wai Pahu, 2007, etching and chine collé on paper, image: 12 x 9 inches. Collection of the artist.

George Whitman: Drawn to Nature
March 28 to June 6, 2008
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
More than forty graphite drawings and etchings are featured in this mini-retrospective of art by contemporary artist George Whitman (American, born 1944). Included in the exhibition are meticulously drawn works depicting a fantastical view of nature, where birds, insects, and animals exist in a primordial landscape. The artist is an adjunct assistant professor of art in the University of Richmond's Department of Art and Art History.

George Whitman (American, born 1944), Untitled (crocodile), from the portfolio Untitled, 2007, etching with chine collé on paper, 12 x 13 3/4 inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Center Street Studio Archives.

Precisely That: 2008 Senior Honors Thesis Exhibition
April 18 to May 9, 2008, Harnett Museum of Art
April 25 to May 18, 2008, Artspace Gallery, @ Plant Zero, Zero East 4th Street, Richmond
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
Selected by the faculty of the Department of Art and Art History to participate in the honors thesis program, graduating senior studio art majors present their work in this exhibition.

Ceramic Portraits: Selections from the Georganna Yeager Johns Collection of Royal Doulton Character Jugs
through June 29, 2008
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
Royal Doulton introduced character jugs into their line of ceramic decorative items in 1934. Noted for their details and creativity, these vessels depict figures from history, military, royalty, celebrities from the performing arts, characters from literature, and other themes from popular culture. The exhibition includes a selection of the jugs from the recent gift of Col. Leo D. Johns of his wife's extensive collection to the museum.

John Barleycorn (Personification of Barley), issued 1978, Royal Doulton, Ltd., Burslem, England, slip-cast earthenware body with glaze, 6 x 7 x 4 3/4 inches, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, The Georganna Yeager Johns Collection of Royal Doulton Character Jugs, R2007.01.247.

The Sacred and the Sensuous: Hindu Art from the Collection
through June 29, 2008
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
This exhibition is a selection of Hindu art from the museum's permanent collection, and it features temple panels, carvings, textiles, and bronzes created over several centuries. The works highlight the stories from sacred texts and represent the diverse ritual and religious practices of the Hindu faith in the Indian subcontinent.

Three-Headed Goddess, Artist unknown, India, fifteenth to sixteenth century, sandstone. Museum purchase, R2006.14.01.

Four Seasons: A Print Series by Jennifer Bartlett
through July 13, 2008
Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
Contemporary artist Jennifer Bartlett (American, born 1941) combines design, pattern, and familiar imagery, while employing as many as 79 colors of ink and screens to make these complex images of the four seasons, a time-honored theme in art. Bartlett created one print each year from 1990 to 1993, and this series of screenprints features the weather, flora, fauna, esoteric objects, and even a skeleton to denote each season.

Jennifer Bartlett (American, born 1941), The Four Seasons: Autumn, 1990-1993, screenprint on medium weight Kurotani Hosho wove paper, 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches. Museum purchase, funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund, H2007.02.02. © Jennifer Bartlett, photograph by Taylor Dabney.