Showing works by a diverse roster of global artists, VMFA’s 21st-century gallery reflects the expanded nature of contemporary art. Fusion: Art of the 21st Century, opening December 19, 2014, builds on this focus. It emphasizes new acquisitions—many on view for the first time—and includes a substantial number of works by African and African-American artists and works from Latin American, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
Mobility and diversity have created a kaleidoscopic quality to contemporary art, with no dominant style, medium, or movement. Painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and photography remain vital, while new technologies inflect work made in both new and traditional formats. Established problems—like abstraction and figuration or image vs. object—are filtered through new concepts like virtual reality and global networks. Added to these concerns is a renewed interest in the ways that culture binds individuals and groups to one another and is, in turn, continually redefined by them. Moreover, the categories that defined identity politics in the 1980s and 1990s—gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation—have become more fluid, reflecting the dynamic nature of contemporary culture. The works in Fusion reflect this state of affairs, embracing expansion, fluidity, and diversity at every turn.
- TITLE: Fusion: Art of the 21st Century
- DATES: December 19, 2014 – July 26, 2015
- ORGANIZERS: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- CURATOR: John B. Ravenal, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
- ADMISSION: Free
About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
VMFA’s permanent collection encompasses more than 33,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years of world history. Its collections of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, English silver, Fabergé, and the art of South Asia are among the finest in the nation. With acclaimed holdings in American, British Sporting, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist, and Modern and Contemporary art – and additional strengths in African, Ancient, East Asian, and European – VMFA ranks as one of the top comprehensive art museums in the United States. Programs include educational activities and studio classes for all ages, plus lively after-hours events. VMFA’s Statewide Partnership program includes traveling exhibitions, artist and teacher workshops, and lectures across the Commonwealth. VMFA, a certified Virginia Green attraction, is open 365 days a year and general admission is always free. For additional information, telephone 804-340-1400 or visit www.vmfa.museum.
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