Rollins Museum of Art Announces Fall 2022 Exhibitions

The Rollins Museum of Art is pleased to announce its fall 2022 season, featuring four exhibitions highlighting work from the museum’s extensive collection as well as recent acquisitions and special presentations. This season’s offerings invite visitors to reflect on the natural wonders all around us, immerse themselves in the culture of Iran, India, and Turkey, put themselves in the shoes of others, and allow themselves to be transported by a host of historic works new to the museum’s collection. Each of these exhibits is sure to spark conversation and provoke introspection among guests, whether they be new visitors or seasoned patrons.

The fall season will debut at the Rollins Museum of Art on Saturday, September 17, and will remain on view through December 31.

Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Art, 1960s-1970s 

Modernisms explores aspects of Iranian, Indian, and Turkish art from the 1960s and early ’70s via selected works from the Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery. Featuring dozens of works from each of the three countries, the exhibition sheds light on how Iranian, Turkish, and Indian artists created works that drew on their specific heritages while also engaging in global discourses around key issues of modernity. It’s the first museum exhibition to bring together modern works from Iran, India, and Turkey.

Barbara Sorensen: Billows

Billows is the newest installation of Barbara Sorensen’s sculptural interpretation of the natural world, marking a departure from the artist’s wall-based signature series, Ripples. Billows breaks free of all constraints; the suspended metal pieces radiate effortless energy and capture the ephemeral unseen power of the wind. Billows re-creates movement in the sky and stands in stark contrast to the material while the subtle elegance and weightlessness defy the rigid metal structure. Inspired by her international travels, Sorensen frequently references natural wonder in her work. Monumental cloud formations observed during her time hiking in Aspen influenced this current body of work, which asks the viewer to reconsider their place within the natural landscape and their surroundings.

Art Encounters: One Act of Kindness: A World of Difference

In tandem with the 2022 Rollins College Common Read theme, “Empathy and Compassion,” this exhibition examines the ways in which artistic creation encourages reflection and action. By sharing personal anecdotes as well as exploring historical events, the artists consider ways to relate to others’ experiences. Works by Guillermo Galindo, Patrick Martinez, Monte Olinger, and Joe Wardwell draw attention to the importance of putting oneself in others’ shoes and seeing the world through a lens different than our own. In doing so, we create connections, build empathy, and develop a deeper understanding of those around us. The works on view invite us to reflect on how we relate to others as well as on acts of kindness that, however small, can often have a significant impact on those who receive them.

What’s New? Recent Acquisitions from the Martin Andersen-Gracia Andersen Foundation

This installation features recent acquisitions on a rotating basis, allowing the museum to share some of its new treasures soon after they’ve become part of the collection. This selection has been curated from a group of transformational gifts from the renowned Orlando-based Martin Andersen-Gracia Andersen Foundation, Inc., which features some of the most important American artists from the late 18th and 19th centuries. The six works in this first rotation are part of a larger collection of more than 20 works on long-term loan. Works on view will include historic paintings by William Merritt Chase, Thomas Moran, James Peale, Elihu Vedder, and William Williams.

What’s New? continues to reflect the museum’s sustained commitment to acquiring works in various mediums, from different time periods, and by artists of diverse backgrounds in alignment with our teaching mission and the curriculum of a liberal arts education.

Related Programming

September 23 | 11 a.m.
Tour: What’s New? Recent Acquisitions
Join Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director of the Rollins Museum of Art, in exploring a selection of recent acquisitions on view for the first time, highlighting several works that illustrate the rationale for acquisitions and the behind-the-scenes process for adding them to the collection.

September 27 | 6 p.m.
Artist Talk: Barbara Sorensen: Billows
Join artist Barbara Sorensen for an artist talk surrounding her newest installation Billows. Using sculptural interpretation to mimic the natural world, she will explain her artistic inspirations in her process-based, immersive installations. A Q&A segment will immediately follow the talk.

This artist talk will be a hybrid event. Virtual attendees may join via Facebook live or register here.

October 7 | 11 a.m.
Tour: Art Encounters: One Act of Kindness: A World of Difference
Join Lauren McLevey, Romano & Mariolina Salvatori Fellow, for a tour focusing on works from the permanent collection in dialogue with the Rollins College Common Read theme, “Empathy and Compassion.”

October 25 | 6 p.m.
Lecture: Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Art, 1960s-1970s
Join us for a lecture from Lynn Gumpert, director of New York University’s Grey Art Gallery, exploring 1960s and early ’70s modernisms in Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Art. Discussing works selected from the Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern, this lecture provides insight into Grey’s motivations and aspirations as well as the challenges she faced in amassing an international collection.

This lecture will be a hybrid event. Virtual attendees may join via Facebook live or register here.

December 2 | 11 a.m.
Tour: Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Art, 1960s-1970s
Join Gisela Carbonell, curator of the Rollins Museum of Art, for an in-depth look at modernist art spanning the 1960s and ’70s from Iran, Turkey and India. This exhibition combines 25 to 30 works from each country and explores their specific heritages while also engaging in global discourses around key issues of modernity.

Happy Hour Tours | 6 p.m.
Join us for a guided tour of selections from The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, on view at The Alfond Inn in Winter Park. Meet us in the hotel lobby for a new tour every first Wednesday of the month, which lasts about 60 minutes. Registration required.

Weekend Tours | Every Saturday | 1 and 3 p.m.
Join us on Saturday afternoons for docent-led museum tours that highlight works from our current exhibitions.

Spanish Programming

Acompaña a la curadora del Rollins Museum of Art, Gisela Carbonell, para visitas guiadas en español. Se proveerá café a los asistentes.

Join Gisela Carbonell, museum curator, for exhibition tours in Spanish. Coffee will be provided.

September 20 | 6 p.m.
ARTE Y CAFE CON LA CURADORA
Art Encounters: One Act of Kindness: A World of Difference

October 18 | 6 p.m.
ARTE Y CAFE CON LA CURADORA
What’s New? Recent Acquisitions

December 13 | 6 p.m.
ARTE Y CAFE CON LA CURADORA
Modernisms: Iranian, Turkish, and Indian Art, 1960s-1970s