Graphic Eloquence: American Modernism on Paper from the Collection of Michael T. Ricker March 5 – September 4, 2022
American modernism in the visual arts has garnered sustained interest among scholars and general audiences in recent years, though typically with a focus on modernist painting.
This exhibition seeks to expand that narrow empha- sis, highlighting an array of techniques and a range of artists who explored modernism’s myriad forms through paper-based media. “Graphic Eloquence” consists of approximately 150 works by 70 artists selected from a single private collection, many of which are promised gifts to the museum. Artists working in modernist modes shared challenges regardless of location, and the exhibition brings out these commonalities as it focuses on re- gional centers that embraced and supported mod- ernist trends. The exhibition examines the impact of influential associations and artist groups, including Atelier 17, American Abstract Artists and the short- lived Vanguard. It also considers the role of museums and contemporary critics in shaping approaches to modernist abstraction. Many of the works in the exhibition also employ lesser-known artistic media, some of them new technical discoveries and others reimaginings of old approaches. Unlike more ex- clusive accounts of modernist painting, the story of modernist works on paper provides a broader, more democratic view of American modernism that high- lights the contributions of many lesser-known artists to this important 20th-century history. A catalogue published by the museum is available in the Museum Shop for $60.
(top) Worden Day (American, 1912 – 1986), “Tumuli,” 1951. Color woodcut, ed. 22/30, 8 9/16 × 22 3/16 inches. Promised gift of Michael T. Ricker. (bottom) Maybelle Stamper (American, 1907 – 1995), “Song a - Float,” 1951. Color lithograph with hand additions, ed. various, 9 1/16 × 7 13/16 inches. Promised gift of Michael T. Ricker.
Curator: Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, curator of American art
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