LUAG Archive

Eight renowned Italian Photographers exhibit over 50 works depicting urban images of contemporary Italian cities. Ugo Mulas, Giorgio Avigdor, Mimmo Jodice, Vincenzo Castella, Gabriele Basilico, Paola DePietri, Guido Guidi, Walter Niedermayr. Curated by Antonella Russo, photography historian, Turin, Italy. Organized by the University of New Mexico. Exhibition accompanied by a bilingual (English/Italian) catalogue.  

Outsider Artist and local resident Gregory Warmack (Mr. Imagination) was commissioned to make Alferd the Mountain Mule. Warmack is an internationally known folk artist, a self-taught visionary whose subtle spirituality is captured in everyday found objects, ranging from sandstone to paintbrushes and bottle caps. His work is exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution and in major… Read More ALFERD THE MOUNTAIN MULE

An interactive outdoor sculpture exhibition by noted artist Martha Posner that combines two bodies of work: "Waking the Wood", a series from the early and mid-1990s, and her most current series of woven and waxed empty garments. In September, Posner will construct three human-scale dresses made of honeysuckle, wire, and wild rosecanes at an outdoor… Read More MARTHA POSNER: HONEYSUCKLE COUTURE

What can we learn by looking at more than one work of art by the same maker?  How do artists use seriality, multiples, or multi-format works to convey their ideas?  What happens when an artist addresses similar subjects with different approaches, or at different times in his/her career?  These are some of the questions explored through this selection from the LUAG teaching collection.

LUAG is pleased to host the 68th annual fall juried exhibition of the Lehigh Art Alliance. This regional group was founded in 1935 to support and encourage area artists and provide a forum for aesthetic discussion and juried exhibition. The fall exhibition is a popular tradition in the Lehigh Valley art community, one of many… Read More LEHIGH ART ALLIANCE JURIED EXHIBITION

Guido Llinás was a master painter and printmaker, born in Cuba, in 1923, and living in France from 1963 until his death in 2005. In Havana he found affinity with Abstract Expressionism, but in Paris during the 1960s his prints began to feature a series of "marks" - squiggles, crosses, doubled crosses and arrows, inspired… Read More GUIDO LLINÁS: FORGOTTEN CUBAN MASTER

Blanka Sperková's art is based upon simplified material and technique: metal wire and finger knitting. She skillfully manipulates fine wire of silver and other materials into three dimensional objects that become symbols of frailty: transparent anthropomorphic and ethereal shapes with internal and external tension that suggest the unwinding of time. Sperková is an award-winning artist… Read More BLANKA SPERKOVÁ: POETRY MADE OF WIRE

In conjunction with the exhibition, Lehigh Associate Professor of Modern Languages, Mary A. Nicholas will offer a First-Year Seminar, "The View From Here: Images of America in Contemporary Literature". Heralded in Moscow as Russia's largest contemporary art show of the decade, the U.S. exhibition tour includes a selection of 70 innovative screenprints by over 20… Read More THE VIEW FROM HERE – ISSUES OF CULTURAL IDENTITY & PERSPECTIVE IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN ART

Works on Paper. Artists include George Segal, Guido Llinas, Victor Vasquez, Wifredo Lam, Pablo Picasso, Ralph Steiner, and Lydia Panas.    

OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, JANUARY 30TH from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Children's Workshop: Saturday, February 7th from 10:30am-12:00pm. Join us for the ritual inflation/deflation of Paranirvana: 10 minutes after opening and 20 minutes before closing, Wednesday through Sunday. Paranirvana (self-portrait) is a monumental 26-foot-long Buddha made of air-brushed polyethylene, air-filled and fan inflated, resting on a symbolic deathbed. The… Read More LEWIS DE SOTO: PARANIRVANA, self-portrait

Nelson Maniscalco works with real bones from small animals to create scaled down interpretations of the prehistoric creatures. Through a painstaking process of modeling, molding and casting each bone in bronze, he explores the relationship between art and science. In 1994 he created a commemorative bronze skeletal dinosaur series for exhibition and sale at the… Read More NELSON MANISCALCO: DINOSAURS RESURRECTED

The Views expressed in the exhibition, LARRY FINK: THE FORBIDDEN PICTURES, are solely those of the artist and do not necessarily represent the views of Lehigh University Art Galleries or Lehigh University. The mission of Lehigh University Art Galleries is to foster an environment of visual literacy in the University and surrounding communities by providing… Read More LARRY FINK: THE FORBIDDEN PICTURES

The exhibit features six contemporary artist/photographers who are as diverse as their work. Triana, Boothe and Arenas are well-established visual artists who enter photography as a continuum of their work. Martin, a seasoned poet, is exploring his poetry in the form of still images. Basu and Lopez, the youngest of the group, are just entering… Read More DISCOVERING: NEW AND EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHY SIX NEW VISIONS

  April 17: Children's Workshop, 10:30 am April 29: Poetry Reading, 4:30 pm April 30: Artists' Reception, 6-8 pm Two distinguished physicians, artist Rick Levinson, M.D. and poet Marc J. Straus, M.D. collaborate in an exhibition of art, sculpture, video and poetry that allows a rare glimpse into a patient's journey from health to illness.… Read More THE BRIDGE – a journey through illness

  Curated by Patricia McAndrew A small-scale exhibition of vintage prints made from glass lantern slides of the 1890s, showing scenes of Cuba and the battleship Maine, and those who manned her. Included are ship's artifacts from the Robert Sayre collection. Originally designed as a cruiser, the Maine eventually went to sea as a battleship,… Read More ONCE UPON A TIME IN HAVANA HARBOR: THE USS MAINE

The exhibition consists of archival Civil War images paired in diptychs with contemporary color photos of the same sites, as they appear today. It challenges the meaning of place in American culture and the evolving legacy of the Civil War in our national memory. Published in book form by the Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.… Read More KILLING GROUND – Photographs of the Civil War and the Changing American Landscape.

Organized by Geno Rodriguez, The Alternative Museum Sponsored by the Nathan Cummings Foundation The exhibition features art and photography focused on children who have survived terrible injustice. Award-winning photojournalists document powerful images, ranging from George Azar's series “The War Generation” to Yannis Kontos' orphans in Lebanon and Afghanistan. Also included are photographs of Kosovo refugee… Read More THE HUMAN CONDITION: AFTER EFFECTS

Selections from a 30-Year Retrospective of the works of the noted artist/photographer: “ Traditions and Memories ,” previously exhibited at Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City. Mendez Caratini has consistently documented the evolving historical changes and cultural heritage of emerging Caribbean nations. His work was included in the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit “Our Journeys/Our Stories:… Read More THROUGH THE EYE OF MEMORY: THREE DECADES (1974-2003). HECTOR MENDEZ CARATINI

Taught by Professors Lucy Gans and Ann Priester

Curated by Norman Girardot, Diane LaBelle, and Ricardo Viera Click here for more Finster Festival Events and Symposium A chronological view of the Paradise Garden in Summerville, Georgia, and selected images from Finster's three visits to Lehigh University, beginning in 1986.  Photography by Ricardo Viera and Norman Girardot. During the late 1970s and through most… Read More HOWARD FINSTER (1916-2001): PARADISE GARDEN

A selection of fine art and commercial prints in diverse mediums and a one-of-a kind portfolio of marker drawings on black and white photographs of clouds from the Lehigh University collection.  Photography by Patti Boustany '87.

A highly selective retrospective of some of Finster's most important and aesthetically arresting work

Curated by Peggy W. Hobbs and Dzintra Kalnins Artist/educator Barbara Kozero favors humorous and playful subject matter, often depicting animals in colorful, richly patterned ceramic surfaces. "Humor, whether satirical or whimsical, is the underlying theme in my work.  I delight in rich and varied materials, and change my medium as the subject dictates." Kozero teaches at… Read More BARBARA KOZERO: WHIMSICAL CERAMICS

An exhibition of sculpture, painted plaster, pen and ink drawings, and photographs by renowned American sculptor, George Segal (1924-2000).

Lokuta, professor of photography at Kean University in New Jersey and assistant to George Segal, creatively documented the artist for over twenty years.

Designed by Art 275: Jessica Davidson, Jessica Miely, Emily Shutt. John James Audubon’s Birds of America, an unusual nineteenth century work in four volumes, is an important part of Lehigh University’s extensive rare books collection.  On view is Volume IV, demonstrating how Audubon’s hybrid of science and art, ornithology and printmaking, makes him one of the… Read More John James Audubon’s Birds of America, Vol. IV

Paintings, installation and photography.  Area Artists is a biennial exhibition presenting the work of some of the finest established artists and art educators in the eastern Pennsylvania region:  Salma Arastu, multicultural artist; Holly T. Brigham, painter; Maureen Drdak, painter; and Gary Graves, photography installation.

Noted Slovak artist Bajusova has produced numerous award-winning children's book illustrations, original drawings and animated films

Samuel Kirk is a senior fine arts/ studio major at lehigh. His senior honors project wax sculpture is a narrative of time spent and a personal journey.

The Don Quixote Project is in conjunction with Touchstone Theatre, artistic partners,and community partners: a sound and sight interractive exhibition and teaching laboratory. Artist-in-residence, Jonas dos Santos.

Digital photographer Theo Anderson explores the vacant landscape of the Bethlehem Steel factories, meditating on this "modern day archeological site."

Digital photographer Theo Anderson explores the vacant landscape of the Bethlehem Steel factories, meditating on this "modern day archeological site."

An exhibition of works by seven nationally known artists and craftsmen: Tom Loeser, Isabelle Moore, Jere Osgood, Cheryl Riley, Brent Skidmore, Travis Townsend, and Leah Woods.

A virtual exhibition of work by Fernando Castro, curated by Robert Varisco, LUAG adjunct curator of education, and Katie G. Schiewetz, intern and research assistant.

This juried exhibition of works by Lehigh Art Alliance members offers a look at the the creative diversity of regional artists.

Digital photographer Theo Anderson explores the vacant landscape of the Bethlehem Steel factories, meditating on this "modern day archeological site."

The work of over fifty photographers, representing diverse ranges of age, gender, race, country of origin and political outlook. The multimedia project consists of over 100 images in photographic essays, videos and single and dual images.

The work of over fifty photographers, representing diverse ranges of age, gender, race, country of origin and political outlook. The multimedia project consists of over 100 images in photographic essays, videos and single and dual images.

Frank 'Wyso' Wysochansky was a man driven to tell the story of Pennsylvania coal miners.  Using pen, ink, watercolor, oil, crayon, and sculptural forms, he captured the life of the coal miner by documenting the tools and working conditions of the anthracite coal mines of northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as the simple life and modest means of the miners' families.

Explore a new page in Adubon's epic catalog of American Birds: The Great Cinereous Owl.

Celebrating 150 years with selections from Lehigh University's Special Collections.

The exhibition includes Pearlstein's prints (some seen in progressive states), sketchbooks, drawings and posters.

Included in the exhibition are Pearlstein's large watercolors, one oil,painting, one drawing, and a selection of objects from the artist's studio.

Digital photographer Theo Anderson explores the vacant landscape of the Bethlehem Steel factories, meditating on this "modern day archeological site."

A mixed media exhibition celebrating the creative spirit of young artists from elementary to high school level.

LUAG joins in the nationwide celebration of the 100th birthday of this renowned artist, educator and industrial designer. 

Zhang Hongtu's monumental scroll installation returns to Packer Memorial Chapel for a limited time.  Organized by ArtsLehigh.

A survey of works by Lehigh University students in several media.  Juried by Diane Labelle, director of the Goggleworks, Reading, PA.  Curated by Clorinde Peters, and coordinated by Sam Kirk.

A comprehensive survey of three decades' work by the notable American ceramic artist and educator.

Gifted autistic artist, Echo McCallister draws and paints a variety of themes, including vehicles, buildings, figures and landscapes.  His special disability provides and inspirational view. 

Selected screenprints from two portfolios in the Lehigh University Permanent collection: Flowers (black and white), 1974 and Flowers (hand-colored), 1974.  

Lithographs, aquatints, xilographs (woodcuts), by the noted Chilean painter/ printmaker.  Sponsored by Lehigh University Global Citizenship,  LUAG and Latin American Studies.

Fourteen original sketches by the visionary award-wining architect, artist, engineer, and sculptor.  Internationally renowned for his dramatic designs in Europe, major projects include expansion of the Milwaukee Art Museum and the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York.

A continuation of the series that represents the work of acclaimed as well as newly discovered artist-photographers from a variety of countries, cultures and traditions.

Color photography conveying the non-violent resistance to civil war conflict, as well as the hopes and stuggles of the people against political and social repression.

Photography and film posters associated with the Italian cinema of the 1940s, from the Lehigh University Art Galleries collection.

An exhibition of Colombian artifacts from the Tairona culture.   Exhibition design by Victoria Tokarowski and Caitlin Malloy, Art 275.

Digital photographer Theo Anderson explores the vacant landscape of the Bethlehem Steel factories, meditating on this "modern day archeological site."

Black and white photographs contemplating Jewish life in Europe and North America.

Black and white photographs documenting three decades of the Chinese Diaspora in North America.

Mixed-media works on paper raising questions of origin and purpose in relation to colonialism, imperialism, and presumptions of religious superiority.

The second annual juried exhibition of student work presented by the Department of Art & Architecture, LUAG and ArtsLehigh with support from university faculty, staff, and community advisory members. Organized by Clorinde Peters '07.

In conjunction with the Bethlehem Bach Festival 100th anniversary celebration, May 3 -12, LUAG presents an exhibition that traces the founders, participants, and history of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

A diverse selection of works on paper from the LUAG collection, including new acquisitions.

This evocative selection from the LUAG teaching collection juxtaposed works of art in various mediums, styles and historical periods based on shared subject matter or genres.  Visual motifs like flowers, portraits, or landscapes come to life through the variety of artistic vision and inspiration.

Black and white contact print photographs

Drawings, works on paper and studies by Lehigh University Professor of Art, Lucy Gans.

Sculptural and audio installation by Lehigh University Professor of Art, Lucy Gans.

Still life and landscapes paintings from prominent Amercian artist Janet Fish.

Mixed media work by regional artists of the Lehigh Valley.

Photography of the anonymous and the celebrated. Curated by Donald Lokuta, Robert Yoskowitz and Ricardo Viera.

Black and white photography from the LUAG collection, through the generosity of Marlene (Linny) & Beall Fowler. Project by Megan Turner, Art 275.

VIDEO: Pema Rinzin: "Silent Brush Working" : 2008  

Susan Taylor Glasgow, Noel Hart, Tevita Havea, Thérèse Lahaie, Ann Wolff, Brent Kee Young. Contemporary sculptural designs in glass. Co-curated by Peggy W. Hobbs and Dzintra Kalnins.

A collaboration between María Martínez-Cañas, artist/photographer, and Kim Brown, conceptual artist/naturalist.

Photography by Elaine Ling, Artist-in-Residence, March 31 - April 4

Juried exhibition of works by Lehigh University Art & Archictecture students.  Curated by Sarah Mikenis, Juror: Randi Olsen Pavlick.

Paintings and drawings by Sarah Mikenis '08

Elaine Ling, Photographer

Celebrating 50 years in the Lehigh Valley.

In conjunction with the visit to Lehigh University by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, July 10-15, 2008, and with support of the Visiting Lecturers Committee of Lehigh University.

In conjunction with the visit to Lehigh University of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, July 10-15, 2008 and with support of the Visiting Lecturers Committee of Lehigh University.

Photographs and photo-based prints from the LUAG Collection.

WYSO imagines the humorous antics of monks and friars in watercolor, pen & ink, and wax resist.  Guest Curator: Steven J. Lichak

Altered, arranged and painted objects

This selection highlights the variety of artists' approaches to the limited edition fine art portfolio within the LUAG teaching collection.  The selected portfolios--by individual artists and groups of artists--are shown in their entirety to focus attention on the portfolio as self-contained idea, conceptual unit, or essay. 

Thanks to the genrosity of alumni and friends, the LUAG Teaching Collection includes excellent examples of work from each member of The Eight, also known as the Ashcan School.  This group of early 20th century American artists often painted gritty scenes of New York City tenement life, and were dubbed the Ashcan School by a critic who disliked their subject matter. The group was comprised of eight painters who were rejected by the National Academy exhibition in 1907. In response, they organized an alternative exhibition at the Macbeth Gallery, New York that is considered a milestone in the history of modern American painting.

HERESIES presents five decades of groundbreaking work by one of the world's most innovative photographers, Pedro Meyer.

HERESIES presents five decades of groundbreaking work by one of the world's most innovative photographers, Pedro Meyer.

HERESIES presents five decades of groundbreaking work by one of the world's most innovative photographers, Pedro Meyer.

Mixed media works by Palette Club members

Works by Amze Emmons, Winifred Helton-Harmon, Rigo Peralta, and Karina Aguilera Skvirsky

3 new video works by painter Juan Sánchez

Co-sponsored by Lehigh University Humanities Center, ArtsLehigh, and the Lehigh University Indian Society.

From the Permanent Collection of Lehigh University.  This exhibition is a project of Art 275 students Skye Lehman and Juliette Gonzalez.

Curated by Catherine Higgins '10
Jurors: Ben Walmer '98 and Rana Walmer '98

Working drawings, notations and marks by Berrisford Boothe, Amy Forsyth, Lucy Gans, Wes Heiss, Marilyn Jones, Heather Sincavage, Jason Travers, Ricardo Viera and Anthony Viscardi.

Three portfolios from the University's permanent art collection

recent works by the contemporary Spanish painter

An three-part exhibition in conjunction with Allentown Art Museum and Lafayette College.

Two portfolios from the University's permanent art collection

Mixed media works by regional artists of the Lehigh Valley

Wood sculpture, photography and installation art by 31 international artists.  Organized by the Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia

Marker drawings on paper

Works on paper. Part II of the OUTSIDERS exhibition

Works on paper from four notable Outsiders, featuring a gift of works by Howard Finster from the Thomas E. Scanlin collection.

Juror: Michelette Jigarjian '02, Curated by Catherine Higgins '10

Works from Bourke-White's insect studies and Baltz's San Quentin Point portfolio

Works by the fourteen full-time A/A/D Faculty

Painting and printmaking

A major work by Harry Bertoia on view in front of the Zoellner Arts Center

Painting and sculpture

Black and white photography documenting the last decade of Bethlehem Steel

Photography and works on paper in three galleries

Over thirty works on paper and select sculptures highlight the work of the Italian-born sculptor and furniture designer.

Drawing I: Self-Portraits, Professor Jason Travers Based on the early grid portraits of artist Chuck Close, students will execute a large scale self-portrait using photographic reference.   The original 8x10 photograph will be divided using an inch-square grid.   The grid will be transposed at four-times scale for the drawing.  (Students may wish to subdivide and label… Read More Have You Seen Us?

Created in different eras, historical and contemporary works of art challenged prevailing notions of of public taste and creative possibilities. Presented side-by-side and linked by visual and conceptual metaphors, these works embody over a century of changing ideas and expectations.

Bronze sculptures and documentation of environmental works made on campus with Lehigh University Art/Architecture/Design students.

Prints from the LUAG Teaching Collection

Prints from the LUAG Teaching Collection

Images of historic regional structures.  Curated by Patricia N. McAndrew.  Timeline by Ken Raniere.

On-site mixed media installations by the visiting artists group

Area Artists is a biennial exhibition presenting the works of established artists and art educators of the Eastern Pennsylvania region.

Themes of time, space and light are explored in this portfolio by the Guatemalan photographer.

Celebrating 40 years of Women at Lehigh

Photography and works on paper by Berenice Abbott, George Platt Lynes, Jasper Johns, Joan Snyder, Robert Mapplethorpe, Maria de Mater O'Neil and others.

Video projections inspired by the writing of Walt Whitman, Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Plath and others.

Presented by Muhlenberg Collge, Lafayette College and Lehigh University

Mixed media works by regional artists.

Pinhole photographs from El Frente de Artistas del Borda.
El Borda Psychiatric Hospital, Buenos Aires
Organized by Juan Martin and NAEMI. Curated by Ricardo Viera.

VIDEO: "NAEMI's Artists (Artistas de NAEMI)" : 2012

A project of Art 276 students Rebecca Diefenbach '13, Alexandra Doersam '12 and Jocelyn Gurland '13

Photography by Anastasia Pantsios Organized by the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame+Museum, Cleveland, Ohio

Proto-architectural models

Photographs of a pre-rock'n'roll Smith and her circle in New York, including Robert Mapplethorpe and Sam Shepard.

Photography portfolio documenting works by Outsider artists

Part of Abait's "Mixed Nature" series, NEST reflects upon our relationship to the urban and natural environments surrounding us.

Farias- Nardi is a visual anthropologist who focuses on long-term photographic documentary projects.

Installations by Jeffrey W. Ludwig and Kristian Derek Ball, celebrating 100 years of John Cage

Contemporary African art reflecting the impact of Barack Obama on the African imagination.

A gift to the collection by Peter Chatzky

An invitational exhibition featuring the works of local high school photographers.  Curated by Ricardo Viera.

Graphic works by the Kutztown, PA native and internationally known artist.  A gift of the Keith Haring Foundation, NY.

Four artist projects combining aspects of photography, video and performance.

65th Anniversary Juried Member Exhibition.

Selected works by the leading Abstract Expressionist painter, courtesy of the Joan Mitchell Foundation and Cheim & Read Gallery, New York.

Personal memory, documents of history and the silence between them.

Photography and works on paper from the LUAG Teaching Collection

Photography and works on paper from the LUAG Teaching Collection.

A biennial exhibition series presenting the work of leading artists and art educators of the Eastern Pennsylvania region.

Photographic narratives from distinctive eras evoke their particular atmosphere and texture.

The motif of the human face as mirror, map, window, or mask is explored in a selection of prints.

Where do we draw the line? And who decides?  Is it the artist, the critic, the collector, or museum?  Or is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?

Objects from daily life, representing the Chavín, Nazca, Moche, Tairona, Chimú, Taíno, and Inca peoples.

This exhibition examines the re-attribution of an important painting within the LUAG Teaching Collection.

Viscardi's drawings and constructions navigate a conceptual landscape between two- and three-dimensional space.

A virtual exhibition as part of Lehigh Valley Photography Month and ArtsQuest's InVision Photo Festival

LUAG hosts a selection of paintings, drawings, mixed media and sculpture by established artists of the Lehigh Valley.

An intimate view into the mind and creative process of the acclaimed South African artist.

Photography by William Earle Williams

Folk art "ugly jugs" extend a tradition with roots in American slavery and other sources.

An exploration of visual structure andf form

Works on paper by four artists

This 1970 portfolio presents Rivers' "visual afterthoughts" on the historical event.

Smith turns his large format camera on the residents and environs of Broward County, Florida in 1989.

Lehigh alumnus and Academy Award wining cinematographer, Stoumen spent the years of WWII traveling with his camera in hand.

Curated by Susan Ellis and Ricardo Viera. Provocative figurative prints speak to the human experience.

Hafez mobilizes muscle-men that are each part superhero, part classical god.

Curated by Christine I. Oaklander, Ph.D. Classical beauty and cubistic invention characterize Davies' ouevre.

Curated by Susan Ellis and Ricardo Viera. Celebrating 20 years of experimental printmaking at EPI.

Works of twelve Cuban artists who suffer mental or emotional impairment.

Rural life in the Channel Islands is portrayed by native printmaker.

Obscure rituals, sacred objects and secret societies inform the photography of Afro-Cuban religion.  Curated by Moritz Neumüller.  A gift to the LUAG Teaching Collection.

A biennial exhibition presenting the works of established artists and art educators of the eastern Pennsylvania region.

From the Civil War to SteelStacks, South Bethlehem has been the cradle of Lehigh University for 150 years. Always historical, sometimes hysterical, these neighborhoods have housed ever-changing multi-ethnic communities and… Read More REVISITING SOUTH BETHLEHEM

Celebrating 150 Years of Lehigh University. From the very beginning, Lehigh University has regarded the arts as a fundamental part of its educational vision. Lehigh’s first president Henry Coppée included… Read More OBJECT AS SUBJECT: The Lehigh University Art Galleries Teaching Collections – Part 2

Celebrating 150 Years of Lehigh University. From the very beginning, Lehigh University has regarded the arts as a fundamental part of its educational vision. Lehigh’s first president Henry Coppée included… Read More OBJECT AS SUBJECT: The Lehigh University Art Galleries Teaching Collections – Part 1

Latin American Art Is American Art. Abstraction, conceptualism, the politics of identity: these are the territories of contemporary art in America. Not surprisingly, these concerns belong to artists of many backgrounds with diverse personal histories. Contemporary Latin American Art focuses on the ways Latino artists have carved out a place within the mainstream of art history or have positioned themselves against it. Figures like Diego Rivera, Wifredo Lam, and José Clemente Orozco have become highly visible, but countless others from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Jamaica, Ecuador and elsewhere have contributed to the complex story of contemporary art. Reflecting aspects of gender, diaspora, poetics, and political commentary, these artists address the reality of life in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Featuring mixed-media works by member artists.

In 1955, Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank traveled across the United states, shooting a quintessentially American social landscape from an outsider’s perspective. Made possible by a Guggenheim foundation fellowship, this now-iconic road trip yielded over 28,000 negatives from which Frank chose eighty-three images for his pivotal book, The Americans. First published in France, The Americans countered the image of 1950s optimism, revealing the hidden face of poverty, racism, and consumerism. Frank’s signature style—improvisational and probing—has had a lasting impact on photography. Drawn from a limited edition portfolio, the works in this exhibition present images of Frank’s unedited contact sheets, complete with his notations. They provide a glimpse of the artist’s mind at work during the realization of this monumental project. Presented as part of Lehigh Valley Photography Month, November 2016.

The visual power of words has captivated the human imagination since the invention of writing. In the hands of artists and poets, this raw material is stretched and transformed into a limitless array of expressive and conceptual forms—handwriting, graffiti, graphics, moveable type, and video imaging to name just a few. Drawn from Lehigh’s extensive collection, the artists in this exhibition explore diverse approaches including word-as-image, captioning, collage, spoken word, braille, and found text. Photography, printmaking, and video works by Guido Llinás, Stephen Althouse, Aaron Siskind, Robert Indiana, Marcia Resnick, Abelardo Morell, Miguel Loredo, Alexander Apóstol, Adál Maldonado, Ed Ruscha, Howard Finster, Arturo Cuenca, Gary Graves, and Pablo Gimenez-Zapiola are presented.

When 13 trees fell at Bartram’s Garden during a huge storm in 2010, the Center for Art in Wood put out a call to artists, inviting them to propose and create new works using the fallen wood and other materials in the spirit of the garden’s founder, John Bartram. The response was overwhelming. Over 100 proposals were submitted from around the world. From these, works were selected, including collaborations by artists from three continents. John Bartram, a friend to Benjamin Franklin and royal botanist to King George III, was known for the innovative boxes he designed to ship seeds and plants to colleagues. His 18th century garden, now a historical landmark, remains a hub for sharing international plant knowledge. This exhibition celebrates Bartram’s legacy of invention and discovery by providing the opportunity for artists to remix his inspirational vision of botany, gardening, and design.