Smart Museum of Art

The University of Chicago

Free and open to the public

Closed for reinstallation

 
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Past Exhibitions : 2012

Chris Vorhees and SIMPARCH, partial installation view of Uppers and Downers, 2012

Chris Vorhees and SIMPARCH: Uppers and Downers

January 10 - December 1, 2012

The collaborative team of Chris Vorhees and SIMPARCH transform the Smart Museum’s lobby with a forty foot rainbow made out of custom kitchen cabinets and an overflowing sink that doubles as a fountain.

Mella Jaarsma, I Eat You Eat Me, 2002, Photographic documentation of a performance in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Courtesy of the artist.

Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art

February 16 – June 10, 2012

Feast surveys the history of the artist-orchestrated meal, presenting the work of more than thirty artists and artist groups who have transformed the shared meal into a compelling artistic medium.

Richard Oelze, Untitled, 1925, Graphite and black and white chalk on wove paper. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Anonymous gift in memory of W.A. Peterhans, 2009.17.

Drawing Inward: German Surrealist Richard Oelze

June 19 – August 26, 2012

Richard Oelze (1900–1980) was a self-proclaimed Surrealist has fallen into relative obscurity on both sides of the Atlantic.

Seon Monk-Painter Haejam, Indra and Heavenly Dragon General, circa 1770s, Opaque mineral pigments, ink, and gold on cloth (hanging scroll, remounted flat on stretched linen. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Purchase, Paul and Miriam Kirkley

From the Land of the Morning Calm: Traditions of Korean Art

July 5 – September 9, 2012

Showcasing the Smart's diverse collection of Korean art, this exhibition explores Korea's complex history of cross-cultural exchange and assimilation.

Kawanishi Hide, The Stone Garden, 1959, Color woodblock with blind stamping. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Gift of Douglas Berman and Peter Daferner in honor of Richard A. Born, 2004.131.

Renewal and Revision: Japanese Prints of the 1950s and 60s

September 4 – December 9, 2012

This intimate exhibition examines the resurgence and reassessment of Japanese printmaking in the first two decades after World War II.

Henri Rivière, Vegetable Garden at Ville-Hue (Saint-Briac), 1890, From the Breton Landscapes, Color woodblock print printed from eight blocks on eighteenth-century Japanese laid paper. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Paul and Miriam Kirkl

Awash in Color: French and Japanese Prints

October 4, 2012 – January 20, 2013

Awash in Color explores the roles, functions, and technology of color in French and Japanese prints.

Valerie Snobeck, American Standard Movement, 2012, Spray paint on debris netting. Courtesy of the artist, Essex Street, New York, and Galerie Catherine Bastide, Brussels. Commissioned by the Smart Museum of Art.

Valerie Snobeck: American Standard Movement

October 8, 2012 – August 19, 2013

In her new site-specific work commissioned for the Smart’s courtyard, Valerie Snobeck re-uses construction material to open up broad questions about aesthetics, value, and the built environment.

Goshka Macuga, Of what is, that it is; of what is not, that it is not, 2, 2012

Goshka Macuga: Of what is, that it is; of what is not, that it is not, 2

December 13, 2012 – January 13, 2013

In collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Smart Museum of Art presents a vast tapestry by London-based Polish artist Goshka Macuga.

Indian, Orissa, Krishna and Brahma, Late 19th/early 20th century

Divine and Princely Realms: Indian Art from the Permanent Collection

December 18, 2012 – April 28, 2013

Traditional art from the Indian sub-continent reveals the region’s layers of history and unique racial, linguistic, and cultural diversity.

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