Opening Reception | Thursday | May 9 | 5:30-7 PM
Shared Ideologies from the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary, which features Native American artworks, headlines the exciting array of exhibitions on view this summer at the Albany Museum of Art. The exhibitions open at 5:30 pm Thursday at an opening reception at the museum, located at 311 Meadowlark Drive.
In addition to Shared Ideologies in the Haley Gallery, the new exhibitions are Tradition & Legacy: Depictions of the American West in the East Gallery; Mixed Metals: Jewelry from the AMA African Art Collection in the McCormack Gallery, and the second part of Old Master Drawings from the Shaffer Collection in the Hodges Gallery. All of the exhibitions will be on view through Saturday, Aug 3.
Thursday evening’s opening reception is free for AMA donors at the Reciprocal level or higher, $10 for Artist Guild donors, and $15 for the general public. Online registration may be found HERE.
Shared Ideologies comprises selected works by Native American artists from the 1970s to the present and is curated by Dr. Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, Curator of Native American art at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary.
The exhibition offers visitors opportunities to engage in a sociopolitical conversation about the space between history and memory. Shared Ideologies invites viewers into a dialogue with indigenous artists on themes that recenter master history narratives and amplify both pan-Indian and tribally specific experiences while pondering a path to a shared future.
When the exhibition was initially shown Sept 1, 2021–Feb 13, 2022, at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary, several works from its Native American collection were publicly shown for the first time.
“Now, the Albany Museum of Art has the chance to share these stories and experiences of Native American artists with Southwest Georgia audiences,” Director of Curatorial Affairs Katie Dillard said. “We have a chance to witness how traditions were honored while persevering through challenges to dictate a new direction in modern art.”
Complementing Shared Ideologies is Tradition & Legacy. Inspired by the West, it includes paintings on loan from the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Ga.; works on long-term loan from the Family of Mr. Walter G. Thompson, and a significant painting from the AMA’s permanent collection.
“The works in this exhibition were created by 19th- and 20th-century non-native artists, but they were artists who held respect for their subjects and depicted them with dignity and vibrancy,” Dillard said. “Mostly portraits, they are depictions of people immersed in tradition and legacy.”
Works on loan from the Booth Western Art Museum are by African-American artists Charles Lilly (b. 1949) and Ezra Tucker (b. 1955). Three works on long-term loan from the Family of Walter G. Thompson were made by Frederic Remington (1861-1909). From the AMA’s permanent collection is the 1906 oil painting Indian Encampment by Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists.
In Mixed Metals, the AMA presents a selection of jewelry pieces from its African Art Collection. Most of the jewelry is from Ethiopia and Ghana, with others from Mali.
“Mixed Metals highlights how jewelry became more than just an avenue for the decoration of the body,” AMA Curator of African Collections and African-American Art Sidney Pettice said. “Building on the act of adornment in African jewelry practices, the exhibition shows that wearing jewelry is a way to indicate religious connections, wealth, and marital status.
“It also provides a new contemporary connection with these pieces and their significant historical origin. We can think about our connections with jewelry, which are similar to those of the Ethiopian people. We wear crosses and indicate our marital status with jewelry, just as Ghanaian communities do. Mixed Metals connects numerous cultures and traditions by bridging the gap between how we think about African jewelry practices and our contemporary wearing of jewelry.”
In the Hodges Gallery, the year-long exhibition of Old Master Drawings from the Shaffer Collection continues with its second phase. The pieces come from the collection of about 150 Old Master Drawings that Albany native Randolph Shaffer, Jr. donated in 1988 to the AMA.
Shaffer became an avid collector of prints during his service in World War II when he was stationed in Paris and London. The drawings in this collection include many sophisticated preliminary studies required to create a masterwork painting.
The AMA is open to the public 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free for everyone. Go to the AMA homepage by clicking HERE.
SUMMER EXHIBITIONS
- Shared Ideologies From the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary is May 9-Aug 3, 2024, in the Haley Gallery.
- Tradition & Legacy: Depictions of the American West is May 9-Aug 3, 2024, in the East Gallery.
- Mixed Metals: Jewelry from the AMA African Collection is May 9-Aug 3, 2024, in the McCormack Gallery.
- Old Master Drawings from the Shaffer Collection, Part 2 is May 9-Aug 3, 2024, in the Hodges Gallery.
- Escape Plan, an installation by Elinor Saragoussi, is in the West Gallery.
ABOUT THE ALBANY MUSEUM OF ART
The Albany Museum of Art is located at 311 Meadowlark Drive in Albany, Ga., adjacent to Albany State University West Campus just off Gillionville Road. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Albany Museum of Art is open to the public 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
For more information about the AMA please visit our website, or call 229.439.8400. Be sure to follow the Albany Museum of Art on Facebook and Instagram.
