NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Nashville’s very own fine arts museum brings in collections of pieces from some of the globe’s premiere galleries and museums, and their thoughtful curation brings cultures and artistic movements spanning the world to the heart of Music City.
This summer, here are three new exhibits representing the surrealist movement of the 20s and 30s, a contemporary Pakistani American artists’ work with space and light, and a collection of works from 15 indigenous artists.
International Surrealism from Tate: Fifty Years of Dreams, (May 22-Aug. 30)
With pieces from the collection of the Tate family of museum in the U.K., “International Surrealism from Tate: Fifty Years of Dreams” exhibit “focuses on the long trajectory and broad international reach of surrealism as a state of mind through a captivating selection of paintings, photographs, sculptures, and other art objects, as well as publications and archival material,” according to a press release.
The exhibit comes 100 years after the first exhibition of surrealism in Paris in 1925. The exhibit features the work of Jean Arp, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy, and Dorothea Tanning.
Surrealism was an artistic movement based on free association and automatism, innovative textures and artistic processes, distorted abstract figures, and dreamlike settings, as a reaction to traditionalism and strict logical frameworks. Each artist in the collection has a unique style and perspective but united under these themes.
Anila Quayyum Agha: Interwoven, (May 22-Aug. 30)
Pakistani American artist Anila Quayyum Agha is known for her immersive installations that use color, shape, intricate patterns light to evoke a sense of wonder, and this mid-career retrospective showcases her light installations as well as works with scaled beaded and embroidered drawings.
Agha moved to the United States from Lahore, Pakistan, and her work is entwined with her experience living in America and inspired by traditional craft and textures of her culture and by Indo-Islamic architecture.
An Indigenous Present, (June 26-Sept. 27)
Spanning over a century of modern and contemporary Indigenous art, “An Indigenous Present” includes fifteen artists that explore cultural and aesthetic indigenous traditions, both personally and in a greater historical context through different forms and media.
The exhibit is a the result of a collaboration between artist Jeffrey Gibson, who is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, and curator Jenelle Porter.
