Jeffrey Gibson & Firelei Báez in Dialogues Across Disciplines: Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art | Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
Dialogues Across Disciplines celebrates the ten year anniversary of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art. Featuring a selection of artworks acquired through gifts and purchases over the last decade, the exhibition highlights the museum’s ongoing commitment to building a globally representative collection that is reflective of the academic and cultural richness of Hamilton College. Featuring over 7,000 works of art and artifacts—2,000 of which have been acquired since the Wellin was established in 2012—the Wellin’s collection represents a broad range of cultures, historical periods, artistic practices and movements. As a teaching museum, the Wellin has worked to activate its holdings to engage the curiosity of students, faculty, staff, and the community, and advance interdisciplinary learning by introducing new ideas and perspectives to classroom conversations.
The works included in this exhibition mirror Hamilton’s liberal arts mission more broadly by highlighting a plurality of voices and viewpoints using art as a means of addressing subjects relevant to a range of disciplines from the humanities to the sciences. To foreground this, members of the Hamilton community have been invited to lend their personal and expert perspectives by writing texts to accompany the artworks on display. This collaboration both deepens our understanding of individual works, but also underscores how the active participation of faculty, students, staff, and administrators enrich the collection and bring the artworks to life. To spark responses to the themes in the exhibition, educational prompts are situated throughout the gallery interspersed between artworks highlighting the interrelationship between the curatorial and education aspects of the museum.
Artists featured in the exhibition include Berenice Abbott, Firelei Báez, Romare Bearden, Ilse Bing, Rhona Bitner, Akea Brionne, Charles Burchfield, René Burri, Margarita Cabrera, Sang-ah Choi, Mark Citret, Larry Colwell, Gerald Cyrus, Yvan Dalain, W.E. Dassonville, Edwin Dickinson, Francesca DiMattio, Mike Disfarmer, David Driskell, Judith Eisler, Liat Elbling, Chris Enos, Spencer Finch, Bisson Frères, Jason Fulford, Jeffrey Gibson, Burt Glinn, Marion Greenwood, Karen Hampton, Donté K. Hayes, Ken Haymen, Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, Candida Höfer, Katushika Hokusai, Henry Horenstein, Walter Iooss, Julia Jacquette, Yun-Fei Ji, Priya Kambli, Clarence Kennedy, Yashua Klos, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, Deanna Lawson, Nate Lewis, Sharon Lockhart, Nicola López, Louis Lozowick, Roberto Lugo, Danny Lyon, Édourd Manet, Julian Martinez, Maria Poveka Martinez, Christine Nofchissey McHorse, Joel Meyerowitz, Jean-François Millet, Inge Morath, Wright Morris, Ray Mortenson, Eamon Ore-Giron, Bill Owens, Elizabeth Peak, Margaret Rhodes Peattie, Beverly Pepper, Howardena Pindell, Al H. Qöyawayma, Michael Rakowitz, Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers), Wendy Red Star, Marc Riboud, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Cara Romero, Arthur Rothstein, Casey Ruble, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Allison Saar, Ibrahim Said, Collier Schorr, Charles T. Scowen, Jamel Shabazz, Yinka Shonibare MBE, RA, Alyson Shotz, Elias Sime, Laurie Simmons, Dayanita Singh, Erika Stone, Jason Stopa, Lou Stoumen, Renée Stout, Judith Taylor, Toyen, Giuseppe Vasi, Barbara Walker MBE, Sidney Waugh, Dyani White Hawk, Dorothy Wilding, and Letha Wilson.
