Happy new year from the Georgia Museum of Art! We are excited all of the new exhibitions, programs and events on our calendar in the year ahead. We are particularly excited about celebrating the 75th anniversary of the museum and paying tribute to our retiring director, William Underwood Eiland, at our Elegant Salute gala on February 4. As we begin this new year, we hope that you will include a goal to view and experience more art in 2023 in your aspirations for this new year. Whether at the Georgia Museum of Art or other venues, a New Year’s resolution to experience more art is guaranteed to be both enriching and achievable. Not sure where to begin? Here’s a sampling of what’s ahead at the museum.
New acquisition of note:
One of our most recent new acquisitions is certainly worthy of a visit in this new year, especially if you’re a fan of a good mystery. As noted in our Winter 2023 edition of Facet, our quarterly newsletter, the museum recently purchased a stunning portrait by Pierre Daura that depicts a yet to be identified young woman sitting on a chair and holding a book. As noted in our newsletter, we may well be able to help solve the mystery of just who the woman is in the painting:
The picture made quite the impression when it was recently on sale in Paris, going so far as to cause a bidding war during the auction. We are very grateful to have been able to acquire this canvas thanks to the funds provided by the Daura Foundation. The verso of the painting presents a partially legible inscription, “Femme au. . . ” (woman with) and the artist’s signature. We can only speculate, at this point, how the artist wished to describe his sitter, but the upcoming restoration of the painting might uncover more elements and help us identify her. Investigative work driven by Martha Daura, the artist’s daughter, has revealed that the book on the woman’s lap, titled “Gauguin,” was written by Roger Rey in 1924 and published in Paris. This clue tells us that Daura made the painting in or after 1924, and possibly later based on stylistic grounds. Martha donated a copy of Rey’s publication to the museum, and we look forward to exhibiting the portrait alongside the book soon.
The painting isn’t on display yet, but we’ll let you know when it is.
Last chance exhibitions:
If you’re a fan of photography and southern culture and history, don’t miss the last few days of “Reckonings and Reconstructions: Southern Photography from the Do Good Fund.” The exhibition is up through January 8 and features a “remarkable and sweeping collection of photography made in the South from the 1950s to the present.” Be sure to check out the accompanying exhibition book, the first comprehensive catalogue of the Do Good Fund’s photographic holdings, co-published with the University of Georgia Press.
“Allison Janae Hamilton: Between Life and Landscape” is on view until February 5. Hamilton, who was born in Kentucky, grew up in Florida and whose maternal family’s farmland is in western Tennessee, uses her intimate knowledge of southern land to examine relationships between life and landscape. Her film and photography look to the folklore, rituals and traditions of communities that have long faced land loss, pollution and other forms of environmental displacement.
Upcoming exhibitions:
We have several new exhibitions ahead for the year. In February, we will have two new exhibitions on view in the galleries. The first, which opens February 4, comes to us from the Princeton University Art Museum. The second, which opens February 11, features work that stems from Hollis Frampton’s 1971 experimental film “Nostalgia.”
Object Lessons in American Art: Selections from the Princeton University Art Museum (February 4, 2023 — May 14, 2023) This exhibition, organized by the Princeton University Art Museum, features four centuries of works from its collection that collectively explore American history, culture and society.Sky Hopinka: Lore (February 11, 2023 — October 1, 2023) Images of friends and landscapes are cut, fragmented and reassembled on an overhead projector as hands guide their shape and construction in this video work by the recent MacArthur Genius Grant winner stemming from Hollis Frampton’s 1971 experimental film “Nostalgia.”
Other upcoming events and programming:
Beyond self-guided tours of the museum, we also have a full calendar of events and programming in the months ahead. From in-depth discussions and yoga in the galleries to educational programming and Family Day, here are just a few of the events ahead in January:
Artful Conversation: Thornton Dial: Wednesday, January 11 • 2 p.m. Artful Conversation programs are 30 minutes long, focus on one or a few works of art and provide opportunities for close looking, open-ended dialogue and discovery. This one focuses on Thornton Dial’s painting “Spirit of Grand Central Station: The Man That Helped the Handicapped,” with Sage Kincaid, associate curator of education.Creative Aging Seated Yoga: Thursday, January 12 • 10:30 a.m. Join us in the galleries for gentle seated yoga led by Raquel Durden. This class will include restorative stretching, deep breathing and mindfulness. All levels and abilities are welcome. Creative aging programs are geared to ages 55+. Program is free but spots are limited, email gmoa-tours@uga.edu to reserve a seat.Tour at Two: Wednesday, January 18 • 2 p.m. These drop-in public tours feature highlights of the permanent collection and are led by museum docents.Yoga in the Galleries: Thursday, January 19 • 6 p.m. Join us for a free yoga class surrounded by works of art in the galleries. Led by instructors from Five Points Yoga, this program is free and open to both beginner and experienced yogis. Sanitized mats are provided. This program is available both in-person (spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis; tickets are available at the front desk starting at 5:15 p.m.) and via Zoom (at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYlc-2oqzIqGtcFoERxBDlKkEoOYo8qk–u).Third Thursday: Thursday, January 19 • 6 – 9 p.m. Athens’ established venues for visual art hold Third Thursday, an event devoted to art in the evening hours, on the third Thursday of every month from 6 until 9 p.m. to showcase their visual-arts programming. Full schedules and participants are posted at 3Thurs.org.Morning Mindfulness: Friday, January 20 • 9:30 a.m. The Georgia Museum of Art invites you into the galleries to relax and recharge with guided mindfulness meditation, held every other Friday. Included is a variety of instructor-led meditation, movement and mindfulness techniques. No experience necessary.Family Day: True Blue: Saturday, January 21 • 10 a.m. – noon. The color blue is one of the museum’s favorite colors, and our love for sharing art near and far is true blue. Paintings, textiles and ceramics all use this color for different effects. Join us this month to celebrate blue with Art Cart activities in the galleries and make a blue-inspired work of art to take home in the Michael and Mary Erlanger Studio Classroom. For those who cannot attend in-person, Family Day To-Go Kits available for pick-up starting at 1 p.m. Saturday through the end of day Sunday while supplies last. Family Day is sponsored by Lucy and Buddy Allen and the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art.
View our full calendar online, follow us on social media or become a Friend of the Museum to keep up with everything we have scheduled this year. We look forward to seeing you in 2023. Happy New Year!
Authored by:
Jessica Luton
