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
Steven McCallum: CASPITA!
March 19, 2023 – May 21, 2023
For the last 51 years, Steven McCallum has been concerned with formal elements of color and composition. He attempts to push these formal elements out of contextual reference to create what he refers to as hyper-ambiguous spatial relationships. Color-critical information conveyed in his work is paramount to achieving his desired retinal result. Calvin Reid stated that “some images assault the senses radically; some images lull the observer into fragmented-fractal-puzzle solving (Art in America, February 1999).
For the last twenty years, McCallum has been exploring the nuances of “computer- built” digital images and photographic manipulation, the results of which are expressed in large-format digital prints. The transition from painter to digital composer has yielded expansive possibilities for his work, including the obvious introduction of recognizable elements and incorporation of more modulated forms. His work aesthetic, work ethic, and dedication to experimentation have remained intact and unchanged for over fifty years. Learn more
Gary Lichtenstein: Painter and Master Printer
March 19, 2023 – June 11, 2023
Renowned painter Gary Lichtenstein demonstrates true abstract expressionism via his spectacular use of color. His paintings, more than 200 oil-based works to date, exhibit mastery of the properties of light absorption and reflection, specifically with regard to the visual impact of color. Inspired by artists such as Robert Motherwell and Helen Frankenthaler, Lichtenstein creates canvases which have frequently been described as ethereal, and he has been praised as one who manages to capture a “sense of no-self…” In fact, the composition of Lichtenstein’s work has been referred to as atmospheric… “evocative of natural forms and phenomena.” In addition, Lichtenstein has collaborated with over one hundred artists during the course of his forty-five year career. Learn more
Billy Gérard Frank: Eulogies & Palimpsests
February 5-April 23, 2023
Meet the Artist Reception: February 5, 1-3pm
Billy Gérard Frank born in Grenada, West Indies, is a multi-disciplinary artist, who works at the intersection of art, filmmaking, design and activism. Frank’s research-based practices interrogate issues dealing with migration, race, exile, global politics, and post-colonial and queer decoloniality, challenging normative discourses around them. His mix-media artworks and films have been exhibited and screened in group and solo shows in museums and institutions like Brooklyn Museum (2020); Yale, and international film festivals like the Berlinale, and Sundance, and is also in several private collections and institutions like the National Academy Museum of Fine Arts and Design, Farnsworth Art Museum among others.
Selections from the 50th Annual Pastel Society of America
March 12, 2023 – May 14, 2023
Founded in 1972 by Flora B. Giffuni, the Pastel Society of America (PSA) – the oldest pastel society in America – is largely responsible for the current renaissance of pastels in American art. The Society’s annual exhibition at The National Arts Club in New York is the premier event for pastel artists worldwide. Selected works from the annual exhibition are later displayed at the Butler in the Flora B. Giffuni Gallery, established in 2004.
Bloodline: The Art of John Mellencamp & Speck Mellencamp
May 7, 2023 – July 2, 2023
“What is clear about the art of John Mellencamp is that his works extend the rich tradition of American expressionistic art that harks back to the painterly canvases of Robert Henri (1865-1929) and the so-called early Modernists that flourished in the early part of the 20th century,” said Louis Zona, executive director and curator of The Butler.
Stay tuned for new and exciting exhibitions and events!
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