The Sacred and The Sensuous: Hindu Art from the Collection September 19, 2007, to June 29, 2008 Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature University of Richmond Museums On view at the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature from September 19 to June 29, 2008, The Sacred and The Sensuous: Hindu Art from the Collection features a variety of religious artifacts from the Indian subcontinent relating to narratives from sacred Hindu texts. The exhibition includes deity bronzes, temple panels, and objects used in devotional practices and presents a vivid picture of the depth of the artistic Hindu tradition. Included in the exhibition are several depictions of Shiva and his family, including a small nineteenth- century bronze of Shiva with his wife Parvati and son, Ganesha. In addition to bronze sculptures, a number of wooden panels are included that relate various narratives about the deities, such as the temple panel depicting the story of Vishnu as Nrsimha , the man-lion avatar. The exhibition also features a number of elephant sculptures, including an ivory elephant from Sri Lanka with traditional festival costuming, indicative of the importance of the elephant in both religious and royal symbolism. Each piece in the exhibition embodies stories of the everyday people who created and used the object as well as the rich narratives of divine ingenuity from the sacred texts.
Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition was co-curated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums, and Kristen Malanoski, '08, history and art history double major, University of Richmond, and 2007 Arts and Sciences summer research fellow in the University Museums. PROGRAMMING Lecture and Reception - Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 7 to 9 p.m. 7 p.m., Lecture, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature "Seeing the Divine: Hindu Art and Ritual" Dina Bangdel, Assistant Professor of Art History, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 8 to 9 p.m., Reception and preview of The Inner Eye: Folk Art of India from the William and Ann Oppenhimer Collection and The Sacred and The Sensuous: Hindu Art from the Collection Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, Boatwright Memorial Library Gallery Talk - Friday, September 28, 2007, 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. Curator's Talk, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, Boatwright Memorial Library "India: Tradition and Transformation" Kristen Malanoski, '08, history and art history double major, University of Richmond, and 2007 Arts and Sciences summer research fellow in the University Museums