Jane Booth, Bigger on the Inside (Dr. Who), 2011, Acrylic on canvas (Gift of the artist in memory of Ann Booth Wilson)
The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art’s permanent collection holds more than 3,200 objects. Like most museums, only a small portion of these artworks are on view at any one time. This winter, two exhibitions have been curated entirely from the collection. Many of the pieces have not been on view for years, so the museum is excited to share these artworks and celebrate the artists and donors who have provided such a rich collection to draw from. Executive Director Eric Fuson explains, “They deserve to be seen.”
Big Ideas will be on view until Feb. 23. This exhibition features large-scale artworks from the collection, many of which have not been on view for many years. By focusing on works that often overpower smaller works or are limited by space constraints, the museum hopes that visitors will have the opportunity to experience the visual and emotional impact of the pieces. Jane Booth’s Bigger on the Inside (Dr. Who) at 80 inches by 76 inches pulls the viewer into a field of blue that floats in and out of the surrounding colors. In Naples/Hercules Roberto Juarez creates a painted collage of botanicals and abstract forms juxtaposed with the monumental Roman sculpture of the Farnese Hercules. Artists like Ben Parks, Robert Weaver and Jim Cantrell use their canvases to confront the viewer with portraits and figures that are sometimes larger than life.
While the AKMA collection primarily focuses on American art, the collection includes a small but strong collection of European prints. Works by artists such as Durer, Rembrandt, Goya, Manet and Whistler will join pieces by American artists George Catlin, George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton to explore printmaking techniques and processes. Screen, Block, Plate, & Stone will exhibit prints grouped by category to allow viewers to understand the creative strengths and limitations of different methods throughout history. The technical skills required by an artist to produce a print, while important, are a building block to individual artistic expression.
Big Ideas will be on exhibit from Nov. 16, 2024, to Feb. 23, 2025. Screen, Block, Plate, & Stone opens March 1 and is on view until May 4. More information about these exhibitions and the Albrecht-Kemper can be found at albrecht-kemper.org.
Financial assistance provided by the St. Joseph, Missouri Visitors Bureau.
