Jasper Johns and Edvard Munch: Inspiration and Transformation

Due to overwhelming demand, this lecture is now sold out.

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Jasper Johns and Edvard Munch: Love, Loss, and the Cycle of Life is the first exhibition to explore the unexpected connections between Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944) and one of America’s greatest artists, Jasper Johns (born 1930). This talk explores how Munch’s art helped redirect Johns’s work at a critical juncture in his career, returning him to figurative imagery and a deeper engagement with themes of human experience.

 

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A performance of John Cage’s “Perilous Night” by the world-renowned, Norwegian pianist, Else Olsen Storesund, will precede the lecture from 6–6:30 pm in Leslie Cheek Theater. Performance is included with lecture ticket.

Members enjoy early access to the exhibition! Not a member yet? Get started today!

Educational Programming for Jasper Johns and Edvard Munch: Love, Loss, and the Cycle of Life is generously supported by the Robert Lehman Foundation. Else Olsen Storesund’s appearance at VMFA is made possible by a gift from Toni A. Ritzenberg.

3 in 30: Hunting for Jeweled Treasure: The Fabergé Obsession

What is it about Fabergé’s creations that fascinates people? Of course the imperial eggs are worth millions of dollars and the craftsmanship of a genuine Fabergé is remarkable, but there are other reasons that are just as compelling. This gallery talk will explore the stories of opulence, revolution, and death associated with these works of art; the personal connections that people make with them; and why they evoke nostalgic visions of a vanished era.

How…Do Art & Music Come Together?

Discover the music of John Cage, an American composer, music theorist, and artist who was also a friend and collaborator of Jasper Johns. Together with other contemporaries, Cage and Johns explored the combination of visual and musical elements in performance art to create new, daring pieces of contemporary art. Cage was a pioneer of open-form music–in which the boundaries between performer, composer, and audience are ambiguous–and of the modern use of musical instruments as a new way of experiencing both sound and art.

Norwegian pianist Else Olsen Storesund, who specializes in open-form music, will play a selection of contemporary music and answer questions.

Else Olsen Storesund’s appearance at VMFA is made possible by a gift from Toni A. Ritzenberg. Educational programming for Jasper Johns and Edvard Munch: Love, Loss, and the Cycle of Life, is generously supported by the Robert Lehman Foundation.

Fabergé: A Life of Its Own

From Imperial Russia to the present day, this exciting documentary tells the epic story of the Fabergé name, spanning 150 years of turbulent history, romance, artistic development, and commercial exploitation. Among many examples shown, 20 pieces from VMFA’s own Fabergé Collection, bequeathed by Lillian Thomas Pratt, are featured up close in brilliant high definition and given historic context. After the film, we invite you to find all 20 pieces in our newly reopened Fabergé Galleries.

Paul Mellon Lecture: Van Gogh and Japan

This lecture focuses on Van Gogh’s work from Paris and the south of France. It investigates how the painter constructed a specific image of Japan, based partly on facts and largely on his imagination, and how this image enabled him to define his own position as a modern artist. The lecture will highlight several major sources of Van Gogh’s inspiration, including Japanese prints, literature, and his ongoing discussions with fellow artists such as Paul Signac, Émile Bernard, and Paul Gaugin.

8TH ANNUAL BOOTLEG SHAKESPEARE: JULIUS CAESAR

By William Shakespeare
October 29, 2016 at 7:30 pm (free tickets released at 5 pm)
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts at the Leslie Cheek Theater
200 N. Boulevard, Richmond VA 23220

“Et tu, Brute?”

It’s the biggest theatre party of the season, and you’re invited! This year, we’re doing a fresh take on our looniest event of the year. Working with some of Richmond’s finest talent, five directors will assemble five different groups of actors, each performing a section of the Bard’s greatest political thriller. This hilariously vicious brouhaha will explode just in time for Halloween and the presidential election. One night only, and FREE!

Tickets released at 5 pm
Two tickets per person

Virginia Tech Student Symposium: Bodies & Power: Picturing Identity from the 18th to 21st Century

How does the human form stand as a durable yet flexible icon across cultures, places, and periods? What happens when bodies are compelled to symbolize dynamic political, social, and mythological narratives? This research symposium, co-organized with the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech, explores these questions through fresh interpretations of objects in the permanent collection. Students in the Virginia Tech Art History Program will present findings from semester-long research projects on works in diverse media from the 18th to 21st centuries.

Presented in collaboration with the Arts@Virginia Tech

First Friday Pop Up: Ambiguous Images

What do you see? A duck or rabbit? A vase or a profile of a man? Take a closer look at the work of Jasper Johns and make art inspired by his use of ambiguous images. We’re hosting this pop up event on our December First Friday event in the Atrium so enjoy live performances and an art activity designed for adults. Open to all.

Educational programming for Jasper Johns and Edvard Munch: Love, Loss, and the Cycle of Life is generously supported by the Robert Lehman Foundation.

 

Teacher Workshop: Fabergé: From Russian Tsars to American Collectors

Have you missed VMFA’s Fabergé and Russian Decorative Arts gallery? After returning from their world tour, the objects in this collection will be back on view beginning in October 2016. The new, expanded installation features a number of objects that have rarely been on view, as well as a significant new acquisition. Resources for teaching history, economics, and humanities using VMFA’s collection, as well as newly digitized archives, are provided in this workshop. Discussions and activities address the great changes afoot in the world from the days of Russia’s last tsars through the Great Depression and World War II, when VMFA’s imperial eggs were collected by Lillian Thomas Pratt.

Sponsored by 

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