UW Art Museum Hosts Summer Exhibitions Opening Reception June 14

The University of Wyoming Art Museum will celebrate summer exhibitions with a free public opening reception Tuesday, June 14, from 6-8 p.m.

The reception will include refreshments and live music by Jascha Herdt and Mike Angstadt. A special program to recognize the acquisition of “Shoshone Hide Painting” by Cadzi Cody also is planned during the opening.

Summer exhibitions now on view are “From Samurai to Geisha: Depictions of Gender in Japanese Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints”; “Beyond the Model: Contemporary Women Artists from the Art Museum Collection”; “AIMÉ MPANE”; “Identity and Gender Roles: The North American Indian Photographs of Edward S. Curtis”; “Oversized: Contemporary Art from the Collection” and “Objects of Power: Artistry of Weapons Across Cultures.” “New Acquisitions: The Art Museum Collection” will open Saturday, June 11.

“From Samurai to Geisha: Depictions of Gender in Japanese Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints” is on view through July 16. Selected from the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition highlights depictions of gender in Japanese culture from the final years of its period of strict isolation through images of Kabuki, which are traditional Japanese plays, and daily society. Through Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, translated as “pictures of the floating world,” artists sought to translate Japanese society and masculine and feminine gender roles into vibrant and stylized print media.

“Beyond the Model: Contemporary Women Artists from the Art Museum Collection” is on view through July 23. It is the first of two exhibitions that explore modes in which women artists push boundaries through femininity and gender in the context of their art, redefining traditional forms of art and art-making. Exhibition objects were selected from the museum’s permanent collection.

“AIMÉ MPANE” is on view through July 23. The exhibition presents recent works by Congolese artist Aimé Mpane. Three series of works are included. “Regard (Homme, Femme et Enfant), 2014” is a multi-panel work depicting a collection of men, women and children that conveys a sense of the individual, family and community. The “Kinoct” series explores themes of race and modern Congolese identity through portraits of women or children from the streets of Kinasha. “La Demoiselle Pende/Masque Bi-face” is a series of carved masks influenced by the work of the 20th century modernist artist Pablo Picasso’s inspired use of African masks.

“Identity and Gender Roles: The North American Indian Photographs of Edward S. Curtis” presents photographs by one of the most recognized and celebrated photographers of American Indian tribes. Selected from the Art Museum’s collection, the exhibition examines how identity and gender roles are illustrated through Curtis’s depictions of American Indian daily tribal life in the early 20th century. The exhibition is on view through Aug. 6.

Selected from the Art Museum’s collection, “Oversized: Contemporary Art from the Collection” presents works, in a variety of mediums and techniques, by artists who typically work in large scale. Subjects vary throughout the exhibition, which is on view through Aug. 6.

“Objects of Power: Artistry of Weapons Across Cultures” explores different ideas of power by examining objects such as weapons, armor, ceremonial objects and masks from the American West, Easter Island, Eurasian Steppe, Papua New Guinea, Central America and various areas of Africa. The exhibition is on view through Aug. 6.

“New Acquisitions: The Art Museum Collection” highlights important recent acquisitions to the permanent collection. Objects will include small bronzes, dating from the 13th to first centuries B.C. from the Eurasian Steppe, gifted by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation; artworks gifted by Daniel R. Anthony; paintings by Jon Schueler, gifted by the estate and a private collector; and a large hide painting by Cadzi Cody, acquired through the generosity of many. The exhibition is funded, in part, by Pat Guthrie Special Exhibitions Endowment funds and will be on view through July 23.

For more information, call the Art Museum at (307) 766-6622, visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum, or follow the museum on Facebook and Instagram.

Through its “Museum as Classroom” approach, the UW Art Museum places art at the center of learning for all ages. Located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Drive in Laramie, the museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday hours are extended to 7 p.m. February through April and September through November. Admission is free.