RELEASE DATE: JAN 12, 2021
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro presents the exhibition Xaviera Simmons: Falk Visiting Artist (January 23 – May 29, 2021). Images and objects, bodies and geography, the personal and the social: artist Xaviera Simmons binds these themes together in artworks that respond to the gaps and distortions in our understanding of histories—be they artistic, political, or economic. Working extensively from archival sources and thinking deeply about art history, she focuses on documents and artifacts that shed light on “the experiences of White, Indigenous, and Black Americans who descend from slavery, stories shaped in relationship to the overarching theme of White threat and terror.” Honoring the layers and nuances of these narratives, she works within abstraction and metaphor–offering viewers accumulations of visual elements to be considered from multiple perspectives.
Curator of Exhibitions, Dr. Emily Stamey notes that “this is an important show with which to launch 2021, for as much as Simmons’s work challenges us to critically examine the past, it also pushes us to find new ways of looking and seeing, perspectives that will help us move us forward.”
The Falk Visiting artist program is a partnership between the Weatherspoon and UNCG’s School of Art. In conjunction with her exhibition at the Weatherspoon, Simmons will be meeting and working with students and will present a public talk.
This exhibition is organized by Dr. Emily Stamey, Curator of Exhibitions.
Related Program:
Artist Talk: Xaviera Simmons
Thursday, March 11, 7pm, virtual event, registration required
Image: Xaviera Simmons, Currents, 2010. Chromogenic color print, 40 x 50 in. Edition of 3. Courtesy of the artist and David Castillo, Miami. © Xaviera Simmons
About the Weatherspoon Art Museum
Mission
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro enriches the lives of diverse individuals and connects multiple communities, both on and off campus, by presenting, interpreting, and collecting modern and contemporary art. In recognizing its paramount role of public service, the Weatherspoon fosters an appreciation of the ability of art to positively impact lives.
History
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro was founded by Gregory Ivy in 1941 and is the earliest of any art facilities within the UNC system. The museum was founded as a resource for the campus, community, and region and its early leadership developed an emphasis—maintained to this day—on presenting and acquiring modern and contemporary works of art. A 1950 bequest from the renowned collection of Claribel and Etta Cone, which included prints and bronzes by Henri Matisse and other works on paper by American and European modernists, helped to establish the Weatherspoon’s permanent collection.
In 1989, the museum moved into its present location in The Anne and Benjamin Cone Building designed by the architectural firm Mitchell Giurgula. The museum has six galleries and a sculpture courtyard with over 17,000 square feet of exhibition space. The American Alliance of Museums accredited the Weatherspoon in 1995 and renewed its accreditation in 2005 and 2015.
Collections + Exhibitions
The permanent collection of the Weatherspoon Art Museum is considered to be one of the foremost of its kind in the Southeast. It represents all major art movements from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Among the nearly 6,200 works in the collection are pieces by such prominent figures as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Edward Weston, Joseph Stella, David Smith, Jackson Pollock, Elizabeth Catlett, Louise Nevelson, Gordon Parks, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Cindy Sherman, Adrian Piper, Betye Saar, Amy Silman, Nick Cave, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Sanford Biggers. The museum regularly lends to major exhibitions nationally and internationally.
The Weatherspoon also is known for its dynamic exhibition program. Through a lively annual calendar of exhibitions and a multi-disciplinary educational program for audiences of all ages, the museum provides an opportunity for visitors to consider artistic, cultural, and social issues of our time—enriching the life of our university, community, and region.
UNC Greensboro
Located in North Carolina’s third largest city, UNC Greensboro is among the most diverse, learner-centered public research universities in the state, with nearly 18,000 students in eight colleges and schools pursuing more than 150 areas of undergraduate and over 200 areas of graduate study. UNCG continues to be recognized nationally for academic excellence, access, and affordability. UNCG is ranked No. 1 most affordable institution in North Carolina for net cost by the N.Y. Times and No. 1 in North Carolina for social mobility by The Wall Street Journal — helping first-generation and lower-income students find paths to prosperity. Designated an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, UNCG is a community-engaged research institution with a portfolio of more than $67M in research and creative activity. The University’s 1,100 faculty and 1,700 staff help create an annual economic impact for the Piedmont Triad region in excess of $1B. For additional information, please visit uncg.edu and follow UNCG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Weatherspoon Art Museum
UNC Greensboro
1005 Spring Garden Street
Greensboro, NC 27412, (336) 334-5770, weatherspoon@uncg.edu
For more information or press images, contact:
Loring Mortensen, (336) 256-1451, lamorten@uncg.edu
