Founded in 1919 by Joseph G. Butler, Jr., The Butler Institute of American Art is the first museum of American art. The original structure is a McKim, Mead and White architectural masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic places. Known worldwide as “America’s Museum”, the museum’s collection totals over 20,000 pieces in all media, and spans four centuries of work. Plan a visit!
EXHIBITIONS
Teo Nguyen: Finding My Way
September 5 – November 14, 2021
Meet the Artist Reception: September 26, 1-3pm
“The son of a glass painter and a poet, the Vietnamese American artist Teo Nguyen lives and works in Minneapolis. His landscapes of the rural upper Midwest capture the vast space, boundless fields, big skies, and chilling isolation distinctive to the region, particularly in winter. He enjoys exploring this novel terrain and sees a mesmerizing beauty often overlooked in the land of his adopted home. Executed in a virtuoso photorealistic technique, this startlingly vivid scene is composed both from memory and imagination. Nguyen likes to drive deep into the prairie to sketch in his car before beginning one of his large-scale paintings back in the studio. Intensely sensitive to the special qualities of this place-the novel scenery, light, and atmosphere-Nguyen seems uniquely positioned to open the eyes of Minnesotans and their northern brethren to the sublime beauty that surrounds us.” – Rachel McGarry, Minneapolis Institute of Art. Learn more
Regional Photography Exhibition: Dismissed Abilities – Alexa Daher & Kristyn Wagner
September 12, 2021 – January 3, 2022
Opening Reception: September 12, 1-3pm
This series shines a “spotlight” on a person living happily with a disability. A part of one of my disabilities includes facial weakness so it is hard for most to notice a drastic change in my emotion. I wanted a way to show the public that I am happy and accepting of my disability since people with disabilities are not typically portrayed this way in the media. This series captures the hardships of living with a disability yet shows that I can still thrive despite them. It crushes misconceptions that disabilities all look the same as well as that people with disabilities cannot live independently, care for or take help from others, be successful, or be disabled without the use of a mobility aid, etc. I chose to have my best friend, Kristyn, help carry out the idea for this series. Since she has been there through my experiences and understands portrait photography, I felt she would be an important part in telling my story. Learn more
82nd Area Artist Annual Exhibition
October 31 – November 21, 2021
The Butler’s Area Artists Annual is a juried exhibition that includes selected artworks in all media submitted by artists residing in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties in Ohio; and Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania. Works include paintings in oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, drawings, prints, photographs, ceramics, sculpture, and crafts. This year’s exhibition was judged by Ed Hallahan, artist and Art Educator for the Youth Arts Honors Program at The Butler, and Art Instructor at Penn State University, Shenango Campus. Learn more
Steranko and The American Hero
March 13-May 29, 2022
Meet the Artist Reception: TBD
The Butler Institute of American Art is proud to announce the Premiere Exhibition of more than 60 select paintings visualizing the most popular and prominent heroes dominating the current international entertainment scene. Across all mediums, from the cinema to comics, Steranko was cited by Stan Lee as one of the prime architects of the Marvel Universe; the co-creator of NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.; and the artist-writer of CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE HULK, SUPERMAN, and THE X-MEN (for which he designed the classic title logo). He generated more than 150 original storytelling devices and techniques that changed the direction of the comics’ medium, and evolved a devoted cult of followers who nicknamed him The Innovator. Learn more
VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS
Pastel Society of America 2020: Enduring Brilliance
This exhibition, drawn from The Pastel Society of America’s annual fall exhibition, features works by some of the nation’s premier pastel painters. The Pastel Society of America (PSA) is the oldest organization of its kind in the nation. A primary mandate of the PSA is to provide a forum for the exhibition of works by the most accomplished pastel artists in the United States and abroad. Since 1972, the PSA Annual Exhibition: Enduring Brilliance!, held at the National Arts club in New York City, has been the premier event for pastel artists worldwide. Learn more