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Museum-hopping is one of our favorite spring activities, and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has quite the lineup this season! From an immersive Andy Warhol exhibit to what you can expect from the museum’s permanent collection, here are the can’t-miss exhibits and pieces the museum is showcasing now and in the coming weeks. Take a look!
Through May 15, 2022: Silver Clouds
Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds first appeared in New York in 1966 after the American pop artist grew tired of painting. Curated by Heather Nickels, the Joyce Blackmon Curatorial Fellow in African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora at the Brooks Museum, this engaging, touch-friendly exhibit features over 75 metallic balloons that have been filled with a unique gas mixture from nexAir in Memphis. The custom-made combination of pure helium and air keeps each balloon hovering between the floor and ceiling. The exhibit also includes several fans to keep the balloons moving when no one is around. Each balloon is made from Scotchpak, a thin, inexpensive film used to heat-seal food and medicine, showing spectators that everyday materials can be used to create mystifying art. Silver Clouds is presented by nexAir and sponsored by Debi and Galen Havner.
SB Tip: Be sure to also check out Andy Warhol’s Little Red Book (supported by Gaskill Strategies) in the neighboring gallery. This exhibit is also on display until Sunday, May 15.
Through June 5, 2022: Paradise Lost: Albrecht Dürer’s Stolen Eden
Paradise Lost: Albrecht Dürer’s Stolen Eden celebrates German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer and the unique woodcutting technique he used when creating his prints. Originally printed as a book in 1511, the exhibit depicts significant scenes from the Bible, including the creation of Adam and Eve and the Last Judgment. In the 1970s, the book was displayed at the Brooks Museum. It was a collection of 36 illustrations and a title page known as the Small Passion until one of the illustrations, Expulsion of Adam and Eve, was stolen. Just last year, Dr. Rosamund Garrett, Chief Curator at the Brooks Museum, discovered and won a replacement of the print at an auction. Now, for the first time in nearly 50 years, you can view the Small Passion series in its entirety. Paradise Lost is sponsored by the Halliday family and SouthernSun Asset Management.
COMING SOON: June 24 – September 15, 2022: Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis
On display later this summer, Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis is an exhibit focusing on Memphis artists’ digital pieces. The exhibition is curated by Patty Daigle, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Brooks Museum. Additional details about this exhibit are yet to be announced, so stay tuned for more information!
ONGOING: Permanent Collection Pieces
The Brooks Museum’s permanent collection is the most extensive collection of world art in the area. Standout pieces to experience in person include The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine by Girolamo Romanino, Rumba by Miguel Covarrubias, and The Slaying of the Medusa by Luca Giordano — all pictured below. The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine depicts a vision where Saint Catherine sees Christ giving her a ring, representing their eternal and divine marriage. Rumba shows a couple dancing the rumba, a dance originating in Cuba that contains Spanish and African elements. The Slaying of the Medusa is a Baroque-style painting that depicts the famous story from Greek mythology where Perseus fights Medusa.
Also part of the Brooks Museum’s permanent collection is Secret Garden from the internationally acclaimed artist Faig Ahmed, which is on view through Sunday, August 7. This marks the first time Secret Garden has been displayed in the U.S. and the first time Faig Ahmed’s work has been part of a museum’s permanent collection in the American South. Similar to his other works, Secret Garden shows Faig Ahmed’s use of digital design to skew the appearance of a repeating pattern. The design is then woven on traditional looms by professional weavers. From there, some parts of the artwork — like the shadows in Secret Gardens — are hand-painted using the same mineral dyes used to color the woven fibers.
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is located at 1934 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38104. To learn more, visit brooksmuseum.org or call (901) 544-6200.
This article is sponsored by the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
