The Davis Museum at Wellesley College presents seven exhibitions this winter/spring.
PARVIZ TANAVOLI
February 10 – June 7, 2015
The Davis presents Parviz Tanavoli, the first retrospective exhibition of the influential Iranian artist’s work to be mounted by a U.S. museum. The exhibition will survey the breadth and richness of the artist’s career from the 1950s to the present day, and marks the 50th Anniversary of Tanavoli’s famed ‘heech’ project.
Critically acclaimed and widely acknowledged as the “Father of Modern Iranian Sculpture,” Tanavoli’s trajectory has spanned east and west as he has innovated ambitiously across media. Best known as a sculptor, his expansive oeuvre also includes painting, printmaking, ceramics, and jewelry. As well, he is a highly regarded collector, scholar, and poet.
An opening celebration, featuring a 5 PM roundtable discussion with distinguished artist Parviz Tanavoli, will be held on Tuesday, February 10 from 5-8 PM.
REMBRANDT AND THE LANDSCAPE TRADITION
February 10 – June 7, 2015
Throughout the 17th century, Rembrandt van Rijn and his contemporaries explored the genre of landscape as both the setting for and the subject of their work. Dramatic, inviting, wild, and inhabited, the natural settings frame narratives depicted by these artists and become the focus of the works themselves. This exhibition of drawings and prints drawn from the Davis collections examines changing attitudes to nature in the United Provinces (as the Netherlands were called at the time) and the diverse ways in which landscape—both imagined and observed—was depicted by Rembrandt and other artists of the Dutch Golden Age.
MICHAEL CRAIG-MARTIN: RECONSTRUCTING SEURAT
February 10 – June 7, 2015
Conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin trains his eye on French Post-Impressionist George Seurat’s monumental painting Une Baignade, Asnières (“Bathers at Asnières”), 1884, one of the most famous pictures in the collection of the National Gallery, London. Moving several steps beyond Seurat’s own remarkably modern reduction of figures into forms, curves and colors, Craig-Martin deconstructs and reconstructs the image through his signature style: his painting, and two sets of related prints, recast the scene of boys on the banks of the Seine through sharp graphic line drawings with a thrilling pop palette.
FRANCESC TORRES: WHAT DOES HISTORY KNOW OF NAIL BITING?
February 24 – June 7, 2015
The Davis presents the world premiere of What Does History Know of Nail Biting?, the latest multi-channel video work from acclaimed Spanish artist Francesc Torres. Examining the extraordinary history of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American volunteers who went to fight for the Republican side against fascism during the Spanish Civil War (1936-9), the work juxtaposes recently recovered archival footage of these soldiers and their battles with recent documentation of the sites of major military encounters during the Spanish Civil War. Torres developed the project during his Spring 2014 residency as the Mellon Visiting Artist at Wellesley College’s Newhouse Center for the Humanities.
WARHOL @ WELLESLEY
February 24 – June 7, 2015
This exhibition explores the rich holdings of artwork—some iconic and others lesser known—by Andy Warhol (1928–1987) in the collections of the Davis Museum, which were recently greatly enhanced by generous gifts from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. An exciting and challenging array of photographs, prints, and sculpture by the leading figure of pop art will be on view.
For the full list of current exhibitions and related gallery talks, films, family & school programs, symposiums, and special events, please visit www.theDavis.org.
TOURS
Get to Know the Davis.
The Davis Museum at Wellesley College offers guided tours during weekday open hours, Tuesday through Friday from 11 AM to 5 PM. Our specially-trained Student Tour Guides help visitors better understand and enjoy the Museum, its distinctive permanent collections, and its special temporary exhibitions. Admission is free, and we welcome audiences from the Wellesley College campus and beyond.
Tours are customized according to interest area, and cover either special exhibitions or the permanent collections. To schedule your visit, or to request more information, please e-mail Liz Gardner, public and interpretive programs specialist, at egardner@wellesley.edu or call 781.283.3045.
DROP-IN PUBLIC TOURS
Special exhibition tours, led by a Student Guide, are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. All tours start at 2 PM and meet in the Davis Lobby.
–Saturday, February 28: Parviz Tanavoli
–Saturday, March 7: Warhol @ Wellesley
–Saturday, March 14: Hanging with the Old Masters: Davis Museum Reinstallation
–Saturday, April 4: Edged in Black: Selections from SMS
–Saturday, April 11: Michael Craig-Martin: Reconstructing Seurat
DAVIS MUSEUM GENERAL INFORMATION
Location: Wellesley College, 106 Central St., Wellesley, Mass.
Museum Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 11:00 am–5:00 pm. Closed Mondays, holidays, and Wellesley College recesses.
Admission is free and open to the public.
Telephone: 781-283-2051
Website: www.theDavis.org
Parking: Free and available in the lot behind the museum. Additional parking is available in the Davis Parking Facility.
Tours: Led by student tour guides. Free. Call 781-283-3045.
Accessible: The Davis, Collins Café and Collins Cinema are wheelchair accessible and wheelchairs are available for use in the Museum without charge. For accommodations, please contact Jim Wice, director of disability services at 781-283-2434 or jwice@wellesley.edu.
