This grouping of fourteen objects highlights the relationship between North American Indigenous artists and artists from the European societies that occupy their homelands.
This exhibition investigates the materials, techniques and reception of painted wood sculpture in Europe between the 13th and the 18th centuries. Polychrome (multicolored) wood sculptures are today recognized as art objects, but at the time they were made, viewers interacted with the sculptures as if they were alive. Most of the works on view here represent sacred figures from Christianity, and their lifelike appearance was central to their function as objects of prayer and devotion. Whether located in a church or a home, the sculptures were part of a multisensory experience.
Aprile Gallant, Mary Walcott Keyes 1931 Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs and Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs introduces a print by the Japanese artist Taniguchi Shigeru
Julia Bender, a master’s candidate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in the History of Art and Architecture department, explores the mysterious past of SCMA’s Saint Catherine sculpture.
Danielle Carrabino, curator of painting and sculpture, offers insight into a recently acquired print by Italian artist, Stefano della Bella (1610-1664). This print may be the earliest work of art in the collection to feature a Black man.
Yao Wu, Jane Chace Carroll Curator of Asian Art, introduces an ink landscape painting made by Chen Xin in 1985 that is currently on view at SCMA on the lower level.
A Chinese artist called Chen Xin painted this landscape. Born in Beijing in 1956, Chen studied with several Chinese classical painting masters in his youth. In the 1980s, he received further training from artists of the Lingnan School, a style of painting from the Guangdong region in southern China.
Emma Chubb, Charlotte Feng Ford ’83 Curator of Contemporary Art, introduces a new work by Amanda Williams, part of her 2020-22 commission for SCMA entitled An Imposing Number of Times.
Mosa Molapo ‘22 graduated from Smith in May with a double major in Art History and African Studies. Mosa also served as the 2021-2022 Kennedy Museum Research Fellow in Art History at SCMA.
Over the course of the academic year, I worked with the Baio collection, a group of 100 photographs donated by Joe Baio and Anne Griffin (class of 1983). One of my objectives was to acquire a new piece for the museum that engages both with this donation and the greater SCMA collection.
Annalise Edwards ‘23J, a curatorial research assistant, explores SCMA’s archives to learn about how and why John Wilson created this portrait of his brother.
