Opens Friday, November 1, 2024
The only exhibition to highlight nearly 175 years of American art in the examination of ideas and perspectives of solitude, Solitude: The Necessity of Art features a bold selection of art from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and with the assistance of the Art Bridges Foundation.
Included is one of only 100 known paintings by Regionalist painter, Grant Wood, a playfully interactive work by conceptual art giant, John Baldessari, and the sobering 1918 work Return of the Useless by early 20th century American realist, George Bellows. The works included in Solitude: The Necessity of Art explore inspirational themes of self-actualization and inspire a search for a communal sense of belonging.
The varied formal approaches in this exhibition reveal art’s true ability to transform through subjects that are both reticent and challenging. The captivating stare of Ammi Phillips’ 19th century, pre-suffrage female portrait, the psychological compression of photorealist painter, Richard Estes’ remote locale of Maine’s Acadia Park and the provocative implications of Andy Warhol’s invented still-life Hammer and Sickle all weigh heavy in the quest for inner strength and individuality while inciting the need for intimacy and human connection.
Consequently, the delivery and interception of artistic language of all kinds become paramount in Peoria Riverfront Museum’s first exhibition which celebrates the creative act as solace for the solitary.
Solitude: The Necessity of Art features an array of multi-disciplinary programming designed to elicit the discovery of inner strength and individuality.
As a bonus, a focused suite of Nicolas Africano sculpture, painting and drawing which constitute new and recent acquisitions illuminating the arc of his fifty-plus year career are highlighted as a self-contained special project within this exhibition. This selection features newly added works from the Heintzman Collection Promised Gift, which have never before been exhibited at Peoria Riverfront Museum.
Solitude: The Necessity of Art is sponsored by Art Bridges Foundation with additional support from Bielfeldt Foundation, Visionary Society, Friends of Art, and Illinois Arts Council.
Generously lent by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as part of Art Bridges’ Partner Loan Network.
