Intersections in American Art

One of two inaugural exhibitions, this is a major reinstallation and reinterpretation of the Museum’s Collection in a much-enlarged gallery space. A national team of scholars and experts in the field worked with the Museum to develop this new interpretation and exhibition installation. The thematic and contextual focuses of Intersections in American Art are informed by artistic principles exemplified by Black Mountain College. Because of its unique relevance to Western North Carolina, its important influence on the national and international art community, as well as its interest to longtime and new residents of WNC and cultural visitors from around the world, the principles of BMC presented an opportunity to develop a unique and placed-based installation.

Intersections in American Art and the first catalogue of the Museum’s Collection consider multiple and sometimes intersecting narratives in American art. Both the exhibitions and the catalogue focus on key aspects and strengths of the Museum’s holdings and provide a narrative framework within which visitors can interact with and experience works of art. The project is organized to convey the multifaceted historical and contemporary stories of art and culture in WNC and Southern Appalachia, set within the broader context of American aesthetic development. The project tells the story of our area, and explore our sense of place and its relationship to and national impact on the art world.

Themes such as Time & Place, Experiments in Material & Form, and Collaboration & Interdisciplinary Dialogue frame Intersections in American Art. These ideas are the cultural heritage, present, and future of the region and are explored in each gallery. Presenting regional contributions within the context of American art on the national scale, these themes help visitors organize and personalize their Museum experience.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

Image credit: Nine Workmen, 1942-45, James Ormsbee Chapin, oil on canvas.