Don’t miss the opportunity to see three landscape-related exhibitions featuring impressionist paintings and local artists
With the holidays behind you and your gardens hiding from winter’s cold, you still have the chance to stroll through the lush, colorful landscapes on view in the Akron Art Museum galleries. Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism, an exhibition of more than fifty of the finest examples of French and American impressionist landscapes from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum as well as American impressionist paintings from the Akron Art Museum, closes February 5, 2012.
Works by leading French artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissaro and Gustave Courbet hang in the same galleries as some of their significant American followers including John Singer Sargent and Childe Hassam.
This is a rare opportunity to see the famous French impressionists along with the Barbizon landscape painters who inspired them. Equally uncommon is the inclusion of well-known Americans who became the strongest proponents of impressionism abroad. Dr. Mitchell Kahan, director and CEO of the museum, explained, “in a lifetime of seeing impressionist paintings, this exhibition is the first of its kind for me. Seeing French and Americans together, along with the artists who were their inspiration, is a true eye opener and provides a completely new perspective on a familiar topic.”
The breadth of paintings tells the story of the development of French impressionism and its impact on American painting during a period when industrialization and technological advances were radically altering the face of the landscape, a phenomenon that artists responded to in highly personal ways. Artists forged strong relationships on both sides of the Atlantic through individual friendships, artist colonies and new artist groups, which afforded the artists a sense of community and belonging in a rapidly changing world.
“There’s nothing quite like seeing the Monet paintings in person is a frequent visitor remark,” commented Elizabeth M. Wilson, director of marketing communication. “Most are particularly familiar with Monet and have seen his work in books, however there is the added thrill of standing in front of his actual work and observing the brush strokes and true color first hand.”
The Akron Art Museum is the final venue for Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism, which has been on tour since 2007 and will return to the Brooklyn Museum.
Just as the impressionist artists responded to the radical changes to the landscape during their time, three Northeast Ohio artists address current environmental issues in exhibitions which complement Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism.
In Landslide/ Between a Rock and a Place, Kent area artist Michelle Droll transformed the museum’s Judith Bear Isroff gallery with paint scraps from her studio, Styrofoam and other recycled man-made materials into a vibrant sculptural installation that brings landscape painting to life while at the same time referencing present-day environmental concerns. The exhibition’s focal point is Gusher, a swirling, towering wave through which aquatic plants, animals and debris escape from an oil spill to be carried away by a flock of birds. Landslide closes February 19, 2012.
In SuperNatural: Landscapes by Bruce Checefsky and Barry Underwood, on view through March 4, 2012 in the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Gallery, these Cleveland artists utilize the effects of atmospheric light in addition to outside light sources to create ephemeral moments in the landscape. Their inventive use of photography and light alters our perception of the landscape to reveal unseen aspects. www.AkronArtMuseum.org
Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism has been organized by the Brooklyn Museum. Its presentation in Akron is made possible by a major gift from The Lehner Family Foundation.
Landslide/ Between a Rock and a Place was organized by the Akron Art Museum and is supported by the museum’s Evelyne Shaffer Endowment for Exhibitions.
SuperNatural: Landscapes by Bruce Checefsky and Barry Underwood was organized by the Akron Art Museum and supported by funding from the Ohio Arts Council.
