Since its founding in 1909, the Newark Museum has been committed to exhibiting and acquiring the work of living artists.  At the same time, the Museum has consistently collected more broadly than most other museums. As the Museum begins its second century, our representation of the “art of our time” builds upon this unconventional history while responding to the realities of artistic practice in an age of globalization. Today, fixed categories based on geographic boundaries—the arts of the Americas, Africa or Asia—have become increasingly tenuous as artists create on multiple continents and exhibit their work internationally.  In addition, historical distinctions between “fine art” and “craft” continue to be blurred, as the definition of art itself is being reshaped.

Unbounded: New Art for a New Century showcases art created over the past fifteen years by forty artists from Africa, America, Asia and Europe.  All are recent acquisitions from the Museum’s collection and many will be on view for the first time.  The Museum’s definition of “contemporary art” is broad and inclusive, encompassing painting, sculpture, ceramics, fashion, jewelry, textiles, photography and new media.  While the art works are diverse, the themes presented highlight shared concerns and ideas that inspire artistic creativity around the world, transcending traditional divisions based on geography, genre or media.  Artists represented include Sandy Benjamin-Hannibal, Dawoud Bey, Jim Campbell, Chunghie Lee, Willie Cole, Sokey Edorh, Victor Ekpuk, Dahlia Elsayed, Arline Fisch, Samuel Fosso, Gonkar Gyatso, Hong Zhu An, Pieter Hugo, William Kentridge, Sun Wuk Kim, Wosene Worke Kosrof, Nicholas Lovegrove, Lu Wen Xia, Lu Jian Xing, Rossinah Maepa, Senzeni Marasela, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Louis Mueller, Magdalene Odundo, Kwesi Owusu-Ankomah, Grayson Perry, Peter Pierobon, Martin Puryear, Damien Repucci, Diego Romero, Red Weldon Sandlin, Deganit Stern Schocken, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Lorna Simpson, Vivan Sundaram, Susan Thayer, Bill Viola, Wang Jin and Sue Williamson.

Unbounded is the result of a collaboration between curators from four departments in the Museum: Christa Clarke (Arts of Africa), Ulysses Dietz (Decorative Arts), Katherine Anne Paul (Arts of Asia) and Beth Venn (American Art).  The curators’ different areas of specialization and varied approaches to art are reflected in the selection of works presented and, in some cases, their interpretation.  This collaborative approach to the representation of contemporary art represents the plurality of artistic centers and the many ways of creating and viewing works of art in an increasingly global world.





Major project support:

   




Images:

Banner (left to right):

Behind Quiet Veils of the Blue Willow, 2001, Red Weldon Sandlin, Earthenware, wood, paint, Gift of Susan Thayer Farago, 2001

Buddha@Hotmail, 2006, Gonkar Gyatso, Silkscreen print, Purchase 2007 Mathilde Oestrich Bequest Fund

Movement #36, 2002, Kwesi Owusu-Ankomah, Acrylic and pigment on canvas, Purchase 2007 Helen McMahon Brady Cutting Fund (below)

Dissolution, 2005, Bill Viola, Color video (edition of 7), Purchase 2007 Helen McMahon Brady Cutting Fund (above)

Main image (above left): Untitled, 1997-2001, Martin Puryear, Ash, pine, cypress, and rope, Purchase 2006 Helen McMahon Brady Cutting Fund