The New Gallery at Austin Peay opens ‘Recent Acquisitions’ exhibition to kick off new season
(Posted Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021)
The New Gallery, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and the Department of Art + Design, is pleased to present Recent Acquisitions: Selection from the Past Five Years of New Acquisitions into APSU’s Permanent Art Collection, to kick off the 2021-22 exhibition season.
“We have accessioned over 150 new pieces into APSU’s Art Collection within the past five years,” said Michael Dickins, curator and director of The New Gallery. “This exhibition features 125 pieces of donated, gifted and purchased works of art and includes artists such as Ansel Adams, Deborah Gould Hall, Bonnie Schiffman, Albert Watson, Frank Paulin, Michel Thersiquel, Khari Turner, Gamaliel Rodriquez, Philippe Salaün, Karen Seapker, Carl E. Moore and many more.
“None of these pieces in this exhibition have been previously seen on campus,” Dickins added. “The exhibition includes Sixteen Frank Paulin photographs donated by Bruce and Silke Silverstein in 2020, a selection of photographs donated by artists from The Museum Project in 2018, a selection of works purchased from previous annual juried student exhibitions; gifts from CECA Visiting Artists and community members; and many ‘Hidden Gems’ – previous accepted works found in storage that were never accessioned into the collection. None of these pieces in this exhibition have been previously seen on campus.”
The exhibit opens Wednesday, Aug. 18, at The New Gallery in the Art + Design building on the campus of Austin Peay State University and runs through Sept. 17. A reception will be had for the community during the Clarksville Art Walk from 5-7:30 p.m. on Sept. 2. Dickins will give a brief gallery talk at 6 p.m.
About the collection
The Department of Art + Design is the primary repository for art on the Austin Peay State University campus. The department’s mission is to provide meaningful encounters with its objects through the acquisition, preservation and interpretation of the collection to the university community of students, faculty and staff, alumni, and the region’s general public. Its vision is to provide meaningful educational experiences and encounters with the visual arts. The educational experiences will concentrate on exhibitions from the Collection to shape and enrich the quality of life for the residents and visitors of Austin Peay and to become a leader in the areas of art appreciation and interdisciplinary education for the local community.
The collection comprises approximately 3,500 pieces of diverse art objects: paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures, drawings and historical objects. Works in the collection are from various sources such as gifts made by individuals and families in the community, donations from visiting artists, purchases made recognizing student artists and notable regional artists, and purchase awards from the Border to Border Biennial National Drawing Exhibition that ran from 1981-2005.
The collection also has several smaller collections representing how the art pieces joined the collection, most notably the Mabel Larson Drawing Collection, which includes the drawings purchased from the Border to Border Biennial Drawing Exhibition and form the largest contemporary drawing collection in the region; The Robertson Collection, a collection of over 350 original photographs, donated by Jim and Nan Robertson, with pieces of historical value as well as examples of some of the finest art photographers in the world; The Folk Art Collection, an exceptional blend of folk and outsider art with the majority of pieces donated by Ned and Jacqueline Crouch and the William Edmondson sculptures donated by the Trahern family.
Walk-through gallery tour
A 360-degree virtual walk-through will accompany this exhibition for those who wish to view the work from the safety of their homes. The walk-through will be found on The New Gallery’s webpage and can be accessed via www.apsu.edu/art-design.
Hours for The New Gallery are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, closed on weekends and holidays, and follows the University’s academic calendar.
For more information on this exhibition, which is free and open to the public, contact Dickins at dickinsm@apsu.edu.
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