The Cincinnati Art Museum has revealed its 2019-2020 exhibition lineup, which includes both free and ticketed shows that feature an array of works from a breadth of cultures, mediums and eras.
This fall, visitors can also anticipate the museum's "Art in Bloom" event. From Oct. 17-20, freshly arranged flowers will be paired alongside works in the fine art collection. (Admission is free.)
"Through these exhibitions, with works of art ranging from eras of antiquity to contemporary, and addressing history as well as modern social and cultural concerns, the museum hopes to further its goal of contributing to a more vibrant Cincinnati by inspiring its people and connecting our communities," a release reads.
The announcement comes on the tail of a record-shattering season for the CAM — during their fiscal year, the museum saw a record-high of 346,000 total visitors. That can be partially attributed to the ever-popular No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man, which ran from April 26-Sept. 2 and attracted 187,630 visitors, making it the highest-attended exhibition ever recorded in CAM’s 133-year-long history.
This spring also saw the highly-anticipated and well-performing ticketed exhibition Paris 1900: City of Entertainment as well as Collecting Calligraphy: Arts of the Islamic World; Life: Gillian Wearing; The Fabric of India; Art Academy of Cincinnati at 150; and Kimono: Refashioning Contemporary Style.
- The Levee: A Photographer in the American South (Oct. 6-Feb 2, 2020) — Contemporary Indian photographer Sohrab Hura's 83-picture suite titled The Levee will be exhibited for the first time outside of India at Cincinnati Art Museum, marking his first-ever solo museum show. Consisting primarily of vivid black-and-white photographs depicting evocative landscapes and portraits, The Levee unearths Hura's travels along the Mississippi River in 2016 as a participant in Postcards from America, a collaborative project that took the form of a photographic road trip. Admission is free. Take a look at his photos here.
- Women Breaking Boundaries (Oct. 11-April 12, 2020) — As part of ArtWaves's city-wide "Power of Her" initiative, CAM's Women Breaking Boundaries will highlight artworks across the museum's permanent collection by women artists, all way from the 17th century to present day. Free admission.
- Treasures of the Spanish World (Oct. 25-Jan. 19, 2020) — Over 200 works of art and historical documents from Spain and Latin America, including Roman Spain, will be featured in this ticked exhibition opening Oct. 25. (Tickets are $16 for non-members; free for members). The exhibition features works from Medieval times to the 20th century. Having debuted at Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, many of these works have never been on exhibition outside of Hispanic Society of America in New York City and some pieces have never been exhibited at all.
- Something Over Something Else: Romare Bearden’s Profile Series (Feb. 28-May 24, 2020) — Featuring 30 collages from Romare Bearden's celebrated two-part profile series, Something Over Something Else will trace Bearden's "journey from rural Mecklenburg, North Carolina to working-class Pittsburgh and culminates with his treasured first studio in Manhattan," according to a release. His series is accompanied by texts cowritten with Albert Murray, his friend, which express "a deep reverence for humanity and the struggles and triumphs of African Americans." Free admission.
- Gorham Silver: Designing Brilliance 1850–1970 (March 13-June 7, 2020) — Gorham Manufacturing Company, one of the largest of its kind in America, is known for their sterling silver and mixed-metal wares. Established in 1831 in Providence, Rhode Island, now these works will get a spotlight of their own at CAM next spring. Tickets are $12 for non-members; free for members.
- One Each: Still Lifes by Pissarro, Cézanne, Manet & Friends (May 15-Aug. 9, 2020) — Held in one gallery, this exhibition will feature still life paintings from five French painters: Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissarro and Frédéric Bazille. Free admission.
- Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces (June 26-Sept. 6, 2020) — This show hones in on 202 European paintings from the Berlin State Museums that, in the midst of World War II, were sent to the United States and exhibited at the National Gallery of Art and 13 other museums during 1948-9 before returning to Germany. Tickets are $12 for non-members; free for members.
- Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… (July 10-Oct. 11, 2020) — Rounding the season out is the first major survey of conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, who through an array of mediums — photography, sculpture, video, audience-activated digital animation, collaborative public art projects — has addressed social justice and civil rights issues. Tickets are $12 for non-members; free for members.
For more info visit cincinnatiartmuseum.com.
