Museum PR Announcements News and Information

Joslyn Art Museum presents Contested Terrain Painting the Modern Landscape

Joslyn Art Museum presents Contested Terrain Painting the Modern Landscape, an exhibition on view through 9/16/2102.

Don Stinson (American, born 1956), The Necessity for Ruins, 1998, oil on panel, metal, plastic, and mixed media, Denver Art Museum, Funds from Contemporary Realism Group, 2000.147

Contested Terrain: Painting the Modern Landscape addresses the complexities of depicting a contemporary world that is rarely sublime or romantic. Opening at Joslyn Art Museum on June 30 and continuing through September 16, Contested Terrain features the work of seven artists — Chuck Forsman, Karen Kitchel, James Lavadour, Jean Lowe, Alexis Rockman, Michael Scott, and Don Stinson — each offering a variety of responses to the challenge of representing a natural world that has been largely overshadowed by human intervention.

Contested Terrain: Painting the Modern Landscape is organized by Joslyn Art Museum. Major sponsor Douglas County, contributing sponsor Woodmen of the World, and supporting sponsors Carol Gendler and Wiesman Development. Additional support provided by the Nebraska Arts Council and Joslyn’s Bodmer Society and Contemporary Art Society.

Rather than searching for scenic vistas or idyllic fragments of wilderness, the artists in Contested Terrain uncover a diversity of narratives — personal, environmental, technological, and cultural histories — that are revealed by a careful reading of American topography. Each artist emphasizes the importance of their personal experiences within the American landscape, encouraging close observation and an awareness of one’s relationship with nature. Reevaluating the grand traditions of landscape painting that helped shape our national identity, these paintings embody a consciousness of the past while playing against conventional mythologies. Images of reservoirs, wind farms, housing developments, and natural disasters reflect an interest in sites where our preconceptions about the natural world are laid bare. Panoramic vistas of strip mines and clear cut forests replace sites like the Grand Canyon as monuments of a post-industrial landscape we have created yet still struggle to acknowledge. Yet by reworking tradition to accommodate the realities of the present, the beauty that still endures at these intersections of man and nature becomes evident. Contested Terrain describes places transformed by development and industry, while still locating moments that speak forcefully of the natural world.

Museum Admission: $8 adults; $6 senior citizens (62+) and college students (with ID); $5 ages 5-17; free for children four and younger and Joslyn members. The general public is admitted free on Saturdays, 10 am to noon. The general public is admitted for $5 on Thursdays from 4-8 pm. Group rates available for 10 or more with advance reservations. Call (402) 661-3833 or e-mail [email protected]. Increased admission for some special exhibitions. Museum Hours: Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, 10 am-4 pm; Thurs, 10 am-8 pm; Sun, noon-4 pm; closed Mon and major holidays. Extended hours for some special exhibitions. www.joslyn.org; (402) 342-3300; 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68102

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *