Material Witness: Folk and Self-Taught Artists at Work will be on view at the American Folk Art Museum. Organized into four distinct sections, the exhibition will explore how artists learn with and through material engagement, often in ways that evade and exceed conventional frameworks for artistic training.

One section will highlight artistic practices that respect and respond to the properties of regionally-sourced materials. Featured are works by artists including Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Ammi Phillips, and Jesse Aaron, as well as examples of earthenware, fraktur, and watercolor paintings. Another section will explore why makers gravitate to certain media and methods, such as sculpting, painting and textile-making, and consider what prompts changes to artistic approach over time.

The exhibition will also feature works that embody a striving towards healing, protection, and transcendence. Artworks by Minnie Evans, Martín Ramírez, and Lonnie Holley transform found and collected materials sourced from everyday objects into vehicles for communion with spiritual and otherwordly realms.

Material Witness is the first in a series of thematic shows drawn from the Museum’s collection and generously supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The exhibitions will showcase works that promote an expansive history of American art and will be presented in the Daniel Cowin Gallery – originally established by Trustee Joyce Berger Cowin in memory of her husband, also a Trustee and champion of the Museum.

The exhibition is curated by Brooke Wyatt, Luce Assistant Curator at the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM).

The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to enrich public discourse by promoting innovative scholarship, cultivating new leaders, and fostering international understanding. A leader in art funding since 1982, the Luce Foundation’s American Art Program supports innovative museum projects nationwide that advance art-centered conversations that celebrate creativity, explore difference, and seek common ground. Learn more at http://www.hluce.org.

Exhibition Date: March 17, 2023–October 29, 2023

Location: American Folk Art Museum

2 Lincoln Square

Columbus Avenue at West 66th Street

New York, NY 10023

Hours

Tuesday - Sunday 11:30am-6:00pm

Monday Closed

Although drop-ins are welcome, advanced ticketing is encouraged prior to a visit to the Museum.

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