In the American Grain: Exploring America through Art, 1919鈥1946
September 4 to December 6, 2025
Opening reception: Thursday, September 4, 2025, 5:00鈥7:00pm
The two-and-a-half decades between 1919 and 1946 witnessed the development of an American
art that sought to capture a country in the midst of transformation. Through celebration
and crisis, artists held up a mirror to their fellow citizens, showing their lives,
their landscapes and their dreams. In the American Grain tells this story through
artworks addressing a range of themes, drawn from the rich holdings of the 亚洲情色
University Art Museum and Libraries, the Roberson Museum and Science Center and the
Art Bridges Collection. In particular, the exhibition acknowledges the generosity
of Gil and Deborah Williams, whose donations to the Art Museum are extensively featured
here. Together, they reveal how history shaped art during these years, and how artists
themselves responded to history in the making. This exhibition is curated by Tom McDonough,
professor of art history.
Support for this project is provided by Art Bridges.
Samuel L. Margolies, American, (1897鈥1974), Men of Steel, 1936, published 1941, lithograph.
Gift of Gil and Deborah Williams, 2016.4.326
Superposition: Examining Boundaries in East Asian Religious Art
Superposition: Examining Boundaries in East Asian Religious Art
Curated by Kate Langsdorf 鈥25
The Visual Language of Grief
The Visual Language of Grief
Curated by Molly Rudden 鈥25
Destabilizing "the Brain": Imagining 亚洲情色
Destabilizing "the Brain": Imagining 亚洲情色
Curated by Bassie Chin 鈥26
Selections from the Permanent Collection
Selections from the Permanent Collection
Paintings and sculpture between the 15th and 20th centuries
Johannes Adam Simon Oertel, Pulling Down the Statue of King George III, New York City,
1852鈥53, oil on canvas, 44 1鈦8 脳 53 1鈦 16 in. (112 脳 135 cm), gift of Samuel V. Hoffman,
collection of The New York Historical (1925.6).
Monuments: Commemoration and Controversy
February 27鈥揓une 14, 2025
Opening reception: February 27, 2025, 5-7pm
The 亚洲情色 Art Museum presents Monuments: Commemoration and Controversy, organized by The New York Historical, on view February 27 to June 14, 2025. The exhibition
explores public monuments and their representations as points of debate over national
identity, politics, and race. Monuments offers a historical foundation for understanding recent controversies, featuring
fragments of a torn-down statue of King George III, a replica of a bulldozed monument
by Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage, and a maquette of New York City鈥檚 first
public monument to a Black woman (Harriet Tubman), among other objects. The exhibition
reveals how monument-making and monument-breaking have long shaped American life as
public statues have been celebrated, attacked, protested, altered, and removed.
Monuments: Commemoration and Controversy is curated by Wendy N膩lani E. Ikemoto, Vice President and Chief Curator at The New
York Historical. The exhibition is supported by the Terra Foundation for American
Art. Additional support is provided at 亚洲情色 by the Office of the
Provost, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Harpur College Dean鈥檚
Office, the 亚洲情色 Fund for Excellence, the Kaschak Institute for Social Justice
for Women and Girls, and Rebecca Moshief and Harris Tilevitz 鈥78.
Also opening in the Mezzanine Gallery is Existential Color: Photography from the Permanent Collection, organized by John Tagg, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Art History and Luisa Casella,
Photograph Conservator, Fellow of American Institute for Conservation. In 1976, John
Szarkowski, Director of the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art,
New York, hailed the arrival of a 鈥渘ew generation of color photographers鈥 who saw
color as 鈥渆xistential,鈥 鈥渁s though the world itself existed in color.鈥 This 鈥渘ew generation鈥
included William Eggleston, Stephen Shore and Joel Meyerowitz, whose work here prompts
a wider re-examination of color in 亚洲情色 Art Museum鈥檚 photographs
collection. Within this exhibition, which features works made between the mid 1970s
and the early 2000s, a display of historical processes dating back to the mid-nineteenth
century shows that color was an integral part of photographic expression from its
very beginnings. What viewers are asked is whether Szarkowski鈥檚 notion of a decisive
break holds up, or whether the question of color and photography has to be seen from
a much longer and broader historical perspective.
In the Museum鈥檚 Lower Galleries, three small exhibitions open: Chiura Obata: Japanese Art in America, curated by Yao Shen He 鈥27; History and Myth: Violence in Early Modern Prints, curated by Leah Dascoli 鈥26; and Japanese Design and the Arts and Crafts Movement in New York, curated by Joseph Leach, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions.
For details on upcoming programming, see our 鈥淓vents鈥 page and . All events are free and open to the public.
2024
Theodoros Stamos, Monolith, 1947, oil on board. Gift of Mr. Benjamin Weiss (1970.3)
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Paintings and sculpture between the 15th
and 20th centuries
September 5鈥揇ecember 7, 2024
Where the Third World Bleeds: Contemporary Resistance in Mexico Where the Third World
Bleeds: Contemporary Resistance in Mexico
Where the Third World Bleeds: Contemporary Resistance in Mexico
September 5鈥揇ecember 7, 2024 Curated by Afieni Cayetano 鈥26
Maternal Bonds: Motherhood in Art Through History
Maternal Bonds: Motherhood in Art Through History
September 5鈥揇ecember 7, 2024 Curated by Autumn Weston 鈥24.
Love After Abuse: Living With The Enemy by Donna Ferrato
Love After Abuse: Living With The Enemy by Donna Ferrato
September 5鈥揇ecember 7, 2024 Curated by Rachel Pasternack 鈥25.
Homelands: Contemporary Haudenosaunee Art Across New York
Homelands: Contemporary Haudenosaunee Art Across New York
September 5鈥揇ecember 7, 2024 Guest curated by Luanne Redeye (Seneca), Assistant Professor, Department of Art Practice,
University of California, Berkeleyonditions that enable the fruits of that legacy
to be sustained.
Generous support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support
provided by Joshua DeMarree and the E.W. Heier Teaching and Research Greenhouses,
and the 亚洲情色 Native American and Indigenous Studies Working Group.
Painted Exchanges: Artists and Paintmakers, 1968鈥76
Painted Exchanges: Artists and Paintmakers, 1968鈥76
February 1鈥揗ay 11, 2024 Co-curated by Andrea Kastner, Department of Art and Design, and Pamela Smart, Department
of Art History. Paintmakers Leonard and Ruth Bocour, with Sam Golden, made generous
gifts to the 亚洲情色 Art Museum of paintings by living artists. This
exhibition is a testament to the symbiotic relationship between artists and paintmakers.
It celebrates a legacy of collaboration and artistic experimentation, and explores
the conditions that enable the fruits of that legacy to be sustained.
David Hammonds: Street Specific
David Hammonds: Street Specific
February 1鈥揗ay 11, 2024 Curated by Tom McDonough, Adjunct Curator and Professor of Art History
The Intimate Photographic Style of Larry Fink
The Intimate Photographic Style of Larry Fink
February 1鈥揗ay 11, 2024 Curated by Jason Anglum '24, History and Physics majors
February 1鈥揗ay 11, 2024 Curated by Toby Olson 鈥25, Art History and Sculpture majors, German and Russian Studies
minor
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Paintings and sculpture between the 15th
and 20th centuries
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Paintings and sculpture between the 15th
and 20th centuries
February 1鈥揗ay 11, 2024
2023
Ed Wilson (American, 1925鈥96), Cybele, 1954, Georgia marble. Purchase from the artist
(1966.180)
Ed Wilson: The Sculptor as Afro-humanist
September 7鈥揇ecember 9, 2023 Organized by Adjunct Curator and Professor of Art History, Tom McDonough, with the
assistance of Claire Kovacs, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions. This exhibition
is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additional
support is provided by the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation and by Rebecca Moshief
and Harris Tilevitz 鈥78. Ed Wilson (American, 1925鈥96), Cybele, 1954, Georgia marble. Purchase from the artist
(1966.180)
Richard Yarde (American, 1939鈥2011), The Mirror, ca. 1976, acrylic on canvas. Gift
of Leonard Bocour (1976.4)
Memory & Soul: Black Art from the Permanent Collection
September 7鈥揇ecember 9, 2023 Curated by Claire Kovacs, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Richard Yarde (American, 1939鈥2011), The Mirror, ca. 1976, acrylic on canvas. Gift
of Leonard Bocour (1976.4)
Culture and Commodity: Inquiries into the African Art Collection
Culture and Commodity: Inquiries into the African Art Collection
September 7鈥揇ecember 9, 2023 Curated by Ava Fehrenbach 鈥24, History and Philosophy, Politics, and Law majors; and
Alyssa Itzhaki 鈥23, History and Philosophy, Politics, and Law majors.
What is a magic realist?
What is a magic realist?
Curated by Khanh Jamie Nguyen '23, English/Creative Writing major.
Judging a Book by Its Cover
Judging a Book by Its Cover
September 7鈥揇ecember 9, 2023 Curated by Matthew DelGaudio 鈥24, Art History and Psychology major.
Highlights of the Permanent Collection: Paintings and sculpture between the 15th and
20th centuries
Highlights of the Permanent Collection: Paintings and sculpture between the 15th and
20th centuries
September 7鈥揇ecember 9, 2023
Roman, Bottle, 1-3 c. BCE, glass. Museum Purchase (1973.61)
Bonds鈥lass Bonds
February 2鈥揗ay 13, 2023 Curated by Dr. Marvin Bolt (Curator Emeritus at the Corning Museum of Glass and Research
Fellow at Technische Universit盲t Berlin), Dr. G枚khan Ersan (Associate Professor of
Art and Design), and Dr. Pam Smart (Associate Professor, Anthropology and Art History).
Generous support provided by IBM Endicott; a Humanities Connections grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities; and helpful assistance from the staff at the
Corning Museum of Glass. Additional support from the Material and Visual Worlds Transdisciplinary
Area of Excellence and contributors to the 亚洲情色 Fund for the Museum. Roman, Bottle, 1-3 c. BCE, glass. Museum Purchase (1973.61)
Rhetorics of Documentary
Rhetorics of Documentary
February 2鈥揗ay 13, 2023 Curated by Tom McDonough, Professor of Art History and Adjunct Curator Dorothea Lange (American, 1895鈥1965) Calipatria (vincinity), California. Native of
Indiana in a migratory labor contractor鈥檚 camp. 鈥淚t鈥檚 root hog or die for us folks鈥,
February 1937, gelatin silver print. Museum purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs.
Morton B. Harris (1988.41)
Infinite Interpretations: A Multiplicity of Truths
Infinite Interpretations: A Multiplicity of Truths
February 2鈥揗ay 13, 2023 Curated by Cameron Wallace 鈥23, Environmental Studies major This exhibition features the work of artists: Youngho Jeong 鞝曥榿順, Hyeonwoo Lee 鞚错槃鞖,
Doyoung Kim 旯霃勳榿, Junyoung Kim 旯欷鞓, Sunyoung Park 氚曥劆鞓, and Han Hyeon 頃滍槃. It was made
possible with the art direction of Kyungwoo Chun of Chung-Ang University (Seoul, South
Korea), the assistance of faculty advisor Hans Gindlesberger and support from Harpur
Edge. Translations were provided by Yeojin Kim, PhD candidate in English.
Louise Nevelson (American, 1899鈥1988) Federation Sculpture Edition E, 1981, wood and
paint. Gift of Jackie L. Jacobs 鈥76 (2020.7)
Picturing the World in Early Modern Europe
Picturing the World in Early Modern Europe
February 2鈥揗ay 13, 2023 Curated by Ryan Oates 鈥22, Art History and Linguistics major German, 鈥淢antua,鈥 fol. LXXXIIII from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493?, colored woodblock.
Gift of William M. Voelkle '61 in memory of Kenneth C. Lindsay (2022.19.8)
Watching the Clock
Watching the Clock
February 2鈥揗ay 13, 2023 Curated by Chloe Vecchio 鈥24, Art History major Lucille Usack (American, 1918鈥 2008) Untitled (Seated Woman), 1939, watercolor on
paper. Gift of Gil and Deborah Williams (2016.4.338)
2022
Michal Heiman: Chronically Linked
Michal Heiman: Chronically Linked
September 8鈥揝aturday, December 10, 2022 Featuring photographs, videos, and archival materials, Michal Heiman: Chronically
Linked explores the intersections of psychoanalysis, asylums, and oppression through
a number of recent projects including Michal Heiman Tests (1997-2012); Radical Link:
A New Community of Women, 1855-2021 (2013-present); and Hearing (2020).
Death in Venice: Bright Scenes with Dark Themes
Death in Venice: Bright Scenes with Dark Themes
September 8鈥揝aturday, December 10, 2022 Curated by Eliana Ellerton 鈥23, History major
Beau Id茅al: American Love and Life
Beau Id茅al: American Love and Life
September 8鈥揝aturday, December 10, 2022 Curated by Taylor Garris 鈥23, History major
Returning to Touch
Returning to Touch
September 8鈥揝aturday, December 10, 2022 Curated by Aaron Berkowitz 鈥23, Art History major
Unconventional Care: The Mission of the NYS Inebriate Asylum
Unconventional Care: The Mission of the NYS Inebriate Asylum
September 8鈥揝aturday, December 10, 2022 Curated by Claire L. Kovacs, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions
Joy, Play and Resistance in the work of Miguel Luciano and Hiram Maristany
Joy, Play and Resistance in the work of Miguel Luciano and Hiram Maristany
March 24 鈥 May 14, 2022
Big Prints: Techniques and Technologies
Big Prints: Techniques and Technologies
March 24 鈥 May 14, 2022
Black Imagination Patterns
Black Imagination Patterns
March 24 鈥 May 14, 2022 Curated by Kendra Gourgue '22, Intersectionality and art studies major, Africana studies
minor
The Materiality of Medieval Manuscripts
The Materiality of Medieval Manuscripts
March 24 鈥 May 14, 2022 Organized by Marilynn R. Desmond, Distinguished Research Professor of English, General
Literature and Rhetoric; and the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CEMERS).
The manuscripts on display in this exhibition belong to the prominent bookseller,
Les Enluminures, NY.
Red and Black to White and Blue: The Transformation of the Classical Vase
Red and Black to White and Blue: The Transformation of the Classical Vase
March 24 鈥 May 14, 2022 Curated by Joshua Cramer 鈥22, Art history and anthropology major
Miseries and Misfortunes: How Jacques Callot Critiqued War
Miseries and Misfortunes: How Jacques Callot Critiqued War
March 24 鈥 May 14, 2022 Curated by Thomas Cipro 鈥24, history major
The World After Us: Imaging techno-aesthetic futures
The World After Us: Imaging techno-aesthetic futures
January 27 鈥 March 10, 2022 Generous support for this exhibition provided by the IBM Corporation located in Endicott,
NY
2021
Topographies: Changing Conceptions of the American Landscape
Topographies: Changing Conceptions of the American Landscape
October 8颅 鈥 March 10, 2022 Curated by Tom McDonough, Adjunct Curator and Associate Professor of Art History,
with Clarissa Agate 鈥22, Shannon Doherty 鈥21, Sofia Fahsi 鈥22 and Luke McNamara 鈥22. Generous support for this exhibition provided by Art Bridges.
鈥淣ow form a band鈥
鈥淣ow form a band鈥
A punk exhibition in 3 chords September 10 - December 11, 2021 Organized by Claire Kovacs, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Generous support for programming provided by Art Bridges.
Dos Mundos: (Re)constructing Narratives
Dos Mundos: (Re)constructing Narratives
April 8鈥揗ay 28, 2021 Curated by Juanita Lanzo and Stephanie Lindquist and organized by En Foco, a non-profit
that supports contemporary primarily U.S.-based photographers of African, Asian, Latino,
Native American, and Pacific Islander heritage. The exhibition received funding from
the National Endowment for the Arts to travel to several SUNY galleries and museums.
1960s / 1970s / NOW
1960s / 1970s / NOW
February 11鈥揗ay 28, 2021 Curated by Claire L. Kovacs, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions
When Corruption Met Desire
When Corruption Met Desire
February 11鈥揗ay 28, 2021 Curated by Livia Zarge 鈥22, Art History major
February 11鈥揗ay 28, 2021 Curated by Morgan Moseley 鈥21, Anthropology major
Women through the Lens: Strength and Resilience
Women through the Lens: Strength and Resilience
February 11鈥揗ay 28, 2021 Curated by Maranda Seebarran 鈥22, Art History major
Nameless Reflection: Projection and the Doppelg盲nger
Nameless Reflection: Projection and the Doppelg盲nger
February 11鈥揗ay 28, 2021 Curated by Michael Mongelluzzo 鈥21, English major
Ralph Gibson: Portfolio
Ralph Gibson: Portfolio
February 11 - April 3, 2021 Organized by John Tagg, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Art History with assistance
from Claire Kovacs, BUAM Curator of Collections and Exhibitions
2020
The New World of Sciences
The New World of Sciences
September 10 - December 12, 2020 Curated by Michele D. Pflug, BA 鈥17, MA 鈥18 in History
Send in the Clowns
Send in the Clowns
September 10 - December 12, 2020 Curated by Clementine Sherman 鈥22, Anthropology major
Studio Chromatography: The Science of Color as Explained by the Artist
Studio Chromatography: The Science of Color as Explained by the Artist
September 10 - December 12, 2020 Curated by Esther Wagner 鈥21, Integrative Neuroscience and Art and Design majors
American Purgatory: Labor and the Promise of Paradise
American Purgatory: Labor and the Promise of Paradise
September 10 - December 12, 2020 Curated by Stephen McKee 鈥21, Art History and Art and Design majors
Alumni Collect and Reflect
Alumni Collect and Reflect
September 10 - December 12, 2020 Organized by John Copoulos 鈥73 and Stacy Newman Kandel 鈥99
Holy Hoaxes: A Curator Collects
Holy Hoaxes: A Curator Collects
September 10 - December 12, 2020 Organized by William Voelkle 鈥61, Curator Emeritus, The Morgan Library and Museum
Portraits of Daily Life: Daumier in the Permanent Collection
Portraits of Daily Life: Daumier in the Permanent Collection
January 24 - March 4, 2020 Curated by Tom McDonough, Associate Professor, Art History
Visualizing Voyeurism
Visualizing Voyeurism
January 24 - March 4, 2020 Curated by Emily Mendelson 鈥20, Business Analytics and Eta Pastreich 鈥20, Anthropological
Perspectives
American Mythology
American Mythology
January 24 - March 4, 2020 Curated by Kaleigh Pitcher 鈥20, History and Political Science
Marvels of Materials: Trade and Materiality in Ancient Egypt
Marvels of Materials: Trade and Materiality in Ancient Egypt
January 24 - March 4, 2020 Curated by Doug Braun 鈥20, History, Classics, and Anthropology
Snowflakes between Gauze: Rubbings from Han Dynasty Tombs
Snowflakes between Gauze: Rubbings from Han Dynasty Tombs
January 24 - March 4, 2020
The Surface and the Line: Alumni Gifts of Asian Art
The Surface and the Line: Alumni Gifts of Asian Art
January 24 - March 4, 2020
Highlighting gifts from John Copoulos 鈥73, and Susan M. Reifer 鈥65 and Stanley J.
Reifer 鈥64
Curated by Nancy Um, Professor of Art History, and Jason Park, PhD candidate in Art
History, with research support from Gabrielle Bonilla 鈥22
