“We are pleased to welcome Caroline Kent this March as part of our ongoing Lenhardt Lecture series, made possible through the generosity of the Lenhardt family,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “Through her exploration of language and abstraction, Kent helps redefine what it means to communicate in a global society. Her practice challenges us to see beyond what’s familiar to us, inspiring dialogue and transformation. The spring Lenhardt Lecture is a rare opportunity to hear firsthand how art can challenge boundaries and allows visitors to gain insight into Kent’s process and vision.”

Kent, an associate professor in the Art, Theory, and Practice department at Northwestern University, was born in Sterling, Illinois in 1975, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota. From 2000 to 2002, she lived in Alba Iulia, Romania, as a Peace Corps volunteer. Kent’s work explores the limits of language and the process of translation through an expanded painting practice. Developed through an open-ended archive of improvisational works on paper, her paintings built from this context take multiple forms, including drawings, sculpture, and performance. She labors to expand the discourse of modernist abstraction by questioning how language operates in unknown and ever-evolving conditions. Her work moves from surface and frame to environment and architecture through acts of translation from one medium to the next. 

Over the past few years, Kent’s practice has evolved into a kind of Gesamtkunstwerk, a total art form, articulating space, matter, and time through architecture, objects, and performance. Past exhibitions have included movement-based troupes and dancers who built choreography from the forms of specific artworks, becoming full-space installations. Wooden shapes extend beyond the paintings, cornices and walls bend to buttress portals, and the vocabulary of forms has begun to produce a choreography for bodies navigating these new worlds. The production of objects has shifted from a conflation of perception tied to a particular time and place to an unfolding universe of becoming. Bringing forms from within the painting to the outside is a simultaneous act of translation and transformation. Kent’s work suggests that an abstract language beckons a context that speaks to other material and immaterial forms in the world.

“Dawn and I are so pleased to welcome Caroline Kent as this spring’s Lenhardt Lecture speaker,” said David Lenhardt, vice chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “Kent’s work makes us consider ways to think differently and connect more deeply. We believe that her voice will inspire attendees to see the power of creativity in building bridges and broadening communication.  

In addition to her presentation at Phoenix Art Museum, Kent will visit with students, local artists and creatives to provide mentorship. This educational and community-based work is another component of the Lenhardt Lectures and enables lecture speakers to give back and engage with Arizona-based creatives in various capacities.

For more information about the Lenhardt Lecture series or for high-resolution images, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at press@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum 

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, a monthly live-music series, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the David and Dawn Lenhardt Lecture and the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative 

The David and Dawn Lenhardt Lecture engages Valley audiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world. In 2018, the inaugural lecture presented New-York based artist Jim Hodges, and subsequent lectures have featured artists Shara Hughes, Daniel Joseph Martinez, Arcmanoro Niles, Teresita Fernández in conversation with Amalia Mesa-Bains, Derek Fordjour, Rashid Johnson, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe in conversation with Larry Ossei-Mensah, Leonardo Drew, Charles Gaines in conversation with Thelma Golden and Adam Pendelton in conversation with Dr. Adrienne Edwards.

The Lenhardt Lecture is a key component of the David and Dawn Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. Made possible through the generosity of the Arizona-based Lenhardt family, the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative was established in 2017 to deepen the Museum’s commitment to contemporary art through various programs, namely the Lenhardt Lectures, which engage Valley audiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world; the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund, which enables Phoenix Art Museum to collect works by contemporary artists; and the Dawn and David Lenhardt Gallery, designated for the presentation of contemporary art, including works acquired with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative, loans from national and local collectors, and a rotating series of artworks from the Lenhardts’ own collection. In 2021, the initiative was expanded to support the diversification of the contemporary art collection of Phoenix Art Museum through the acquisition of works by artists contributing to discourses on race, gender, and other socially relevant concerns, including those by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and women artists, among others. Since 2017, the Museum has acquired artworks by Shara Hughes, Arcmanoro Niles, Derek Fordjour, Rashid Johnson, and Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. 

About Caroline Kent

Caroline Kent, an associate professor in the Art, Theory, and Practice department at Northwestern University, was born in Sterling, Illinois in 1975, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota. From 2000 to 2002, she lived in Alba Iulia, Romania, as a Peace Corps volunteer. Kent’s work explores the limits of language and the process of translation through an expanded painting practice. Developed through an open-ended archive of improvisational works on paper, her paintings built from this context take multiple forms, including drawings, sculpture, and performance. She labors to expand the discourse of modernist abstraction by questioning how language operates in unknown and ever-evolving conditions. Her work moves from surface and frame to environment and architecture through acts of translation from one medium to the next. 

A 2025 USA Fellow and recipient of the Aspen Arts Prize for innovation in painting, Kent has received grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, and Jerome Foundation. Additionally, she was a 2020 Artadia Chicago Awardee and a 2021 Joyce Alexander Wein Prize recipient from the Studio Museum in Harlem. Her recent exhibitions include La Trienal at El Museo del Barrio, New York City and Ancestral at the Museum of Brazilian Art (M.A.B.), São Paulo, Brazil. Kent has showcased her work at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MoMA, MCA Chicago, the New Orleans Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Hill Art Foundation, BAMPFA, the Queens Museum, and the Walker Art Center.

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PHOENIX (September 3, 2025) – Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) today announced the recipients of the 2025 Arizona Artist Awards. Alice Leora Briggs was named the recipient of the 2025 Scult Family Artist Award and Chris Ignacio and Jan Talmadge Davids were named the recipients of the 2025 Sally and Richard Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards (Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards). New this year is the Sette/Cohn Artist Award, established in 2024 to expand the Arizona Artist Awards program and deepen PhxArt’s support of local artists. Shaunté Glover was named the inaugural recipient. As part of the awards, each artist receives a lifetime Membership to Phoenix Art Museum as well as funds to support their artistic practice. Briggs, Ignacio, and Talmadge Davids will also have the opportunity to exhibit their work in solo and group exhibitions at the Museum premiering in summer 2026.

“We are thrilled to announce this year’s Scult, Lehmann, and Sette/Cohn Artist Awards recipients, in recognition of their artistic contributions to our state’s robust arts and culture landscape,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “Each of these artists has built a dynamic, thoughtful practice that speaks to their own lived experiences, communities, and perspectives on identity, connection, and the larger human condition. We are honored to support their work as part of our ongoing commitment to amplifying the voices of Arizona-based artists through our annual Artist Awards program, and we are grateful to the Scult family, the Lehmann family, the Cohn family, Lisa Sette, and Artlink for their generosity and partnership in strengthening those efforts.” 

“I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Alice, Chris, Jan, and Shaunté as our newest cohort of Arizona Artist Awards recipients,” said Christian Ramírez, Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement at Phoenix Art Museum. “These artists have all built multifaceted practices, and their work stands as a testament to the strength of the artistic community here in Arizona. I look forward to working with Alice, Chris, and Jan as we begin planning for their forthcoming exhibitions, which will be designed to engage our community with their evocative works and wide-ranging perspectives, and I look forward to seeing how Shaunté utilizes this award opportunity to support her artistic growth.” 

Scult Family Artist Award

Each year, Phoenix Art Museum recognizes a mid-career Arizona-based artist with the Scult Family Artist Award. Eligible candidates must have resided in Arizona for a minimum of four consecutive years and are nominated by a group of curators, museum directors, and other arts professionals from across the state. Their candidacy is evaluated based on their demonstration of artistic excellence, active creation and exhibition of new work, and career-spanning evolution. Following a robust review process, a jury of curators, art scholars, artists, and other experts and professionals in the field from across the country selects the recipient. The Scult Family Artist Award includes monetary support of $20,000 and an invitation to present a solo exhibition of new and past work at the Museum. The 2025 Scult Artist Award jury included Lana Meador, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, San Antonio Museum of Art; Olivia Miller, Executive Director, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon; Ann Morton, 2019 Scult Family Artist Award recipient; Christian Ramírez, Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement, Phoenix Art Museum; and Jeff Scult.

The 2025 Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award recipient is Alice Leora Briggs. Born in an oil boomtown in West Texas, Briggs grew up in Idaho’s Snake River Valley and is now based in Tucson, Arizona. Through her practice, she investigates human frailties through drawings, woodcuts, letterpress broadsides, site-specific installations, and books. Her work has been featured in more than 50 solo exhibitions and is represented in more than 35 public collections, including those of Phoenix Art Museum; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Museum of Fine Arts Houston; Library of Congress; Oxford’s Bodleian Library; and Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.  Her publications include Dreamland: The Way Out of Juárez (2010); an illuminated manuscript-police blotter created with writer Charles Bowden; Abecedario de Juárez: An Illustrated Lexicon (2022) produced with photojournalist Julián Cardona; and The Room, a portfolio of woodcuts created with U.S. poet laureate Mark Strand. Briggs was a Fulbright Scholar at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia, and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa and is represented by Evoke Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Etherton Gallery in Tucson, Arizona.  

Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards

The Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards foster the creative practices and careers of emerging Arizona-based artists. Candidates must have resided in Arizona for a minimum of one year and are invited to apply through an annual open call hosted by Artlink, a non-profit organization that has supported and amplified Arizona artists and community-based art events and initiatives for more than 30 years. Recipients receive $10,000 in monetary support and the opportunity to present a joint exhibition at the Museum with fellow Lehmann awardees. The 2025 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards jury was also assembled by Ramírez and included Ramírez; Lana Meador, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, San Antonio Museum of Art; Olivia Miller, Executive Director, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon; Ann Morton, 2019 Scult Family Artist Award recipient; and Sally Lehmann. 

The Museum has named Chris Ignacio and Jan Talmadge Davids as the recipients of the 2025 Lehmann Emerging Artist Awards. Based in Phoenix, ChrisIgnacio is a Filipino-American puppeteer, producer, educator, and interdisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of voice, technology, and identity. He began his puppetry career in New York in 2012, training with experimental artists at La MaMa and working across theater, community arts, and livestream media. In 2023, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as a puppeteer in Florencia en el Amazonas, directed by Mary Zimmerman. He has also premiered original puppetry works at New York theaters including La MaMa, The Tank, and The Brick, and has toured both nationally and abroad. In Phoenix, Ignacio has served as a media designer for major institutions such as Ballet Arizona, Arizona Broadway Theater, Arizona Opera, and Childsplay. His original projects, including those featured in exhibitions at Vision Gallery and Mesa Arts Center, center community collaboration, particularly with young people or people with limited arts exposure. He holds an MFA in Theatre/Interdisciplinary Digital Media from Arizona State University (ASU), where he now teaches motion capture and 3D animation. Ignacio also serves as creative producer for the T. Denny Sanford Harmony Institute at ASU. 

Jan Talmadge Davids works in clay and mixed media to explore landscapes of her childhood and their local  ecologies and to articulate ideas of place-making. Through installation and material sensitivities, she invites the viewer to engage in the ideas of fragility and vulnerability. Talmadge Davids was born in Tucson, Arizona, spending her youth in the southeastern part of the state. She attended the University of Arizona, California State University at Long Beach, and then came from Los Angeles to pursue her MFA at the Herberger School of Art and Design, where she found the opportunity to reconcile her past with her present, which is embedded in the desert landscape. Her work has been shown at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; The Carolyn Campanga Klefeeld Contemporary Art Museum in Long Beach, CA; Tempe Center for the Arts; eye lounge; The Tucson Museum of Art; and Art d’Core Gala.

Sette/Cohn Artist Award

Established in 2024, the Sette/Cohn Artist Award was created to expand PhxArt’s Arizona Artist Awards program.  The new $5,000 prize is awarded to an emerging Arizona artist selected from the Lehmann Emerging Artist Award application pool as part of a five-year initiative dedicated to supporting arts engagement and strengthening community partnerships. It is named in honor of Lisa Sette, who has supported and represented Arizona-based artists, both through her gallery and personally, for more than 40 years, and Lee and Mike Cohn, longtime Museum supporters who in 2023 provided the seed funding to launch the Phoenix Art Museum Education and Engagement Excellence Fund and have extended their generosity to support Arizona-based artists. The award’s recipient is selected by Christian Ramírez, Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement, Phoenix Art Museum; Olga Viso, Selig Family Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, Phoenix Art Museum; Lee and Mike Cohn; and Lisa Sette. 

The inaugural 2025 Sette/Cohn Artist Award recipient is Shaunté Glover. Glover is a multidisciplinary artist based in Phoenix, Arizona. Her creative journey spans photography, film, printmaking, and sculpture, exploring identity and representation to use art as a catalyst to increase visibility, strengthen community engagement, and amplify the voices of marginalized communities, particularly those of Black women. Rooted in her upbringing in South Phoenix, Glover’s work draws from memories of childhood, basketball, family, and everyday neighborhood life. She combines these influences into layered visual narratives that reflect lived experience and cultural nuance. 

The Arizona Artist Awards are made possible by the Scult Family; Sally and Richard Lehmann; the Cohn Fund for Arts and Culture, a founding gift of the Phoenix Art Museum Education and Engagement Excellence Fund; and Lisa Sette.

For high-resolution photography or more information, contact the Museum’s Communications Office at samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org or press@phxart.org. 

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, an art+music festival, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About Artlink Inc.

Artlink keeps the arts integral to our development by connecting artists, businesses, and the community. Founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by artists in 1989, the Artlink name is a guiding principle for the organization, as it supports stakeholders of the arts and culture community, amplifying its collective strength. Visit artlinkphx.org to sign up for the Artlink newsletter, or connect socially on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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PHOENIX (October 25, 2023) – This winter, Phoenix Art Museum presents Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen, showcasing the remarkable, large-scale work of global contemporary artist Manjari Sharma. Organized by the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama, the exhibition features Sharma’s intricate photographic portraits from her Darshan series, paired alongside historical sculptural objects from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, many of which are on view for the first time. Together these works explore issues of identity, multiculturalism, and personal mythology. Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen will be on view from December 16, 2023 through April 14, 2024 in the Katz Wing at Phoenix Art Museum.

“Phoenix Art Museum is proud to present Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen as the inaugural exhibition in a newly renovated temporary exhibition space located on the third floor of the Katz Wing,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “This exhibition will acquaint our visitors with Manjari Sharma, an outstanding contemporary artist who is taking classic Hindu images and reimagining them through the photographic medium, in conversation with a selection of sculptural objects from the Birmingham Museum of Art collection. Expanding Darshan further illuminates our institutional approach of pairing historical works of art with modern and contemporary works, thus deepening connections and relationships with diverse and multi-generational communities. Expanding Darshan is accompanied by a robust series of arts-engagement programming, highlighting the tenets and cultural practices of Hinduism, the third largest religion worldwide.” 

Based in Los Angeles, Sharma was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and creates work rooted in photographic portraiture that addresses issues of identity, multiculturalism, and personal mythology. The series’ name refers to the Sanskrit word Darshana, which means “sight,” “vision,” or “appearance.” In the Hindu faith, ‘darshan’ refers to the experience of seeing or witnessing a deity, spiritual object, or holy person in either real or imagined form. True darshan is not simply a voyeuristic relationship—it is a mutual interaction between viewer and subject that results in a powerful form of worship.

To bring her Darshan series to fruition, Sharma worked across continents to organize and manage a large team of models and craftspeople, including prop builders, makeup artists, art directors, painters, carpenters, jewelry experts, and assistants, whose labor and expertise informed her photographic recreations of nine Hindu deities in temple settings. These images were created with custom fabrication and have been featured in The New York Times, Vice Magazine, and Los Angeles Times, among others.

“My practice is shaped by my cultural curiosity about the inner landscape of the human mind and its inextricable, elemental, and sacred relationship to ritual and mythology,” said Sharma. “I use my lens of introspection to conceptually collage from scriptures of yesterday juxtaposing them with how they transpire into everyday narratives of today. Darshan was the culmination of my deep-seated interest in studying, questioning, and celebrating these epic states of human imagination, history, performance, and transformation.”

In dialogue with these contemporary images, the exhibition presents much earlier sculptural objects from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, many of which are on view to the public for the first time. These works date as early as the 7th century and offer waves of stylistic and regional iterations—from both South and Southeast Asia—of these same nine Hindu deities. Together with Sharma’s works, they amplify ongoing conversations about the inextricable relationship between art and religion, and how each generation of contemporary artists continues to cull inspiration from their personal experiences, individual cultures, and spiritual practices to refresh and re-envision images from an earlier history.

“Amplified by Sharma’s extraordinary photographs, this exhibition demonstrates—over centuries—a larger sphere of exchange throughout South and Southeast Asia of magnificent shared visual and textual sources not only for Hinduism, but also for Buddhism, Jainism, and even aspects of Islamic religious traditions as practiced throughout the regions,” said Katherine Anne Paul, PhD, the Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring photographs by Sharma and historical works from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art. The publication serves as an accessible primer to the arts of Hinduism by introducing nine of the most significant deities of the Hindu pantheon and their contemporary relevance in art and faith. The book also places Sharma in conversation with renowned curator Bridget Bray of Asia Society Texas Center, content that provides insight into the contemporary thoughts, challenges, and opportunities Sharma generated through her Darshan series. Angela May contextualizes other forms of contemporary artistic practice in Angkor, Cambodia, which respond to the UNESCO world heritage site. Finally, select case studies offer insights into institutional transparency, connoisseurship, and provenance for specific works featured in the volume.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.

About the Exhibition
Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen is organized by Birmingham Museum of Art. The exhibition’s presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Janet Baker, PhD, Curator Emerita of Asian Art, and Rachel Sadvary Zebro, associate curator for collections, at Phoenix Art Museum, in collaboration with Katherine Anne Paul, PhD, the Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen is made possible through the generosity of Men’s Arts Council, with additional support from E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and Vermaland, LLC.

All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; youth aged 5 and younger; and Maricopa County Community Colleges students. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

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PHOENIX (October 6, 2022) –On November 2, 2022, Phoenix Art Museum will present critically acclaimed artist Rashid Johnson as the speaker for the Museum’s fall Lenhardt Lecture, a key component of the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. Johnson is internationally renowned for his abstract and evocative installations, two- and three-dimensional objects, videos, and performances that explore themes of social history, art history, philosophy, and his own autobiography. The 2022 Lenhardt Lecture featuring the New York-based artist coincides with the recent acquisition of Johnson’s Untitled Anxious Bruise Drawing (2021), which is on view in the Museum’s Katz Wing for Modern Art and is the fourth work acquired by the Museum through the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. This year’s Lenhardt Lecture will be presented at 7 pm on November 2 in the Museum’s Whiteman Hall. Tickets are complimentary and can be reserved here.

“Phoenix Art Museum and Dawn and David Lenhardt share a passion for not only expanding representation in the museum’s contemporary art collection but also impacting our community through engagement with artists,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “We are thrilled to welcome internationally acclaimed artist Rashid Johnson as the speaker for the Museum’s fall Lenhardt Lecture, made possible through the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. Rashid’s influential and layered multi-disciplinary works explore themes of personal and collective history, reinforce the importance of representation, and explore the resilience and power within African-American communities and histories.”  

Born in Chicago and now based in New York, Rashid Johnson studied photography at the Art Institute of Chicago, but his practice has since expanded to embrace sculpture, painting, drawing, filmmaking, and installation. Through spontaneous and unmediated mark-making, his work addresses the existential struggles of his own life as well as life itself, resulting in compositions that are both autobiographical and metaphorical.

“Rashid Johnson is one of the brightest creative minds of his generation,” said Gilbert Vicario, the Museum’s curator of modern and contemporary art. “He has a deep knowledge of history, which he deploys in conceptually thought-provoking ways, bringing a rare combination of innovative aesthetics and deep historical contemplation to issues of identity and self-awareness.”

Solo exhibitions of Johnson’s work have been presented nationally and internationally, including at Museo Tamayo, Mexico City; Milwaukee Art Museum; Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow; and Drawing Center, New York. His first feature-length film, an adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released in 2019 on HBO. Johnson’s work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and now Phoenix Art Museum.

“Dawn and I are very pleased to welcome Rashid Johnson as the speaker for this November’s Lenhardt Lecture,” said David Lenhardt, vice chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “Johnson’s visceral works blend various media and call upon symbolism and his personal experiences to explore racial and social issues. We are excited to bring him to Phoenix to engage with our community through a public lecture and an opportunity to connect with young art students.”

Johnson’s Untitled Anxious Bruise Drawing (2021) is the fourth work acquired into the Museum’s collection with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative, which seeks to diversify the contemporary art collection of Phoenix Art Museum through the acquisition of works by artists contributing to discourses on race, gender, and other socially relevant concerns, including those by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and women artists, among others. The work is part of a series of drawings and paintings titled Bruise, which develops themes presented in Johnson’s Anxious Red series that he created during the pandemic to explore the anxiety, isolation, and loss felt by many due to COVID-19. These Bruise works, including Untitled Anxious Bruise Drawing, use gridded compositions of expressive half-geometric, half-human faces in various shades of blue to conjure the feelings of aftermath, reckoning, and healing that have now taken hold of people from all walks of life, all over the globe. They also draw from the mood and lyrics of the Fats Waller jazz standard “Black and Blue,” which was made popular by Louis Armstrong and is an important motif in Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man. In this way, the painting reflects not just the immediate impact of violent social changes sparked by the pandemic and the intensification of hostilities across political lines, but how current social moments and movements are indicative of ongoing, historical inequities.

For more information about the 2022 Lenhardt Lecture, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the Dawn and David Lenhardt Lecture and the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative
The Dawn and David Lenhardt Lecture engages Valley audiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world. In 2018, the inaugural lecture presented New-York based artist Jim Hodges, and subsequent lectures have featured artists Shara Hughes, Daniel Joseph Martinez, Arcmanoro Niles, Teresita Fernández, Amalia Mesa-Bains, and Derek Fordjour.

The Lenhardt Lecture is a key component of the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. Made possible through the generosity of the Arizona-based Lenhardt family, the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative was established in 2017 to deepen the Museum’s commitment to contemporary art through various programs, namely the Lenhardt Lectures, which engage Valley audiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world; the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund, which enables Phoenix Art Museum to collect works by contemporary artists; and the Dawn and David Lenhardt Gallery, designated for the presentation of contemporary art, including works acquired with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative, loans from national and local collectors, and a rotating series of artworks from the Lenhardts’ own collection. In 2021, the initiative was expanded to support the diversification of the contemporary art collection of Phoenix Art Museum through the acquisition of works by artists contributing to discourses on race, gender, and other socially relevant concerns, including those by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and women artists, among others. Since 2017, the Museum has acquired artworks by Shara Hughes, Arcmanoro Niles, Derek Fordjour, and Rashid Johnson with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative.

About Rashid Johnson
Rashid Johnson (b. 1977, Chicago) is recognized as one of the major voices of his generation. Johnson composes searing meditations on race and class while establishing an organic formal vocabulary that fuses various sculptural and painterly traditions. Though he employs materials drawn from specific autobiographical contexts—including those related to African-American intellectual and imaginative life—and though his practice had its beginnings in photography and conceptual art, Johnson is equally interested in testing the ability of abstract visual languages to communicate across cultural boundaries. The breadth and generosity of his vision has resulted in a wide range of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects, installations, videos, and performances. Johnson has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions including Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2019); Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2019); Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City (2017); Milwaukee Art Museum (2017); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2016); and Drawing Center, New York (2015). His work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and Phoenix Art Museum.

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PHOENIX (December 2, 2021) –Phoenix Art Museum announces the acquisition of Untitled Anxious Bruise Drawing (2021) by critically acclaimed New York-based artist Rashid Johnson. The work is the latest purchased by the Museum with funds from the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative and furthers the Museum’s mission to diversify its contemporary art holdings. Johnson, whose work was recently presented in a solo exhibition at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles, is internationally renowned for his abstract and evocative installations, two- and three-dimensional objects, videos, and performances that explore themes of social history, art history, philosophy, and his own autobiography. His work is the fourth acquired by the Museum since 2017 through the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative and will be on view in 2022.

“We are excited to add Rashid Johnson’s work to the Museum’s contemporary art collection,” said Mark Koenig, the Interim Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “Not only does this acquisition, made possible by Dawn and David Lenhardt, bring greater diversity to the experiences and perspectives represented in the Museum’s collection—it also advances our contemporary art holdings and ensures our community has access to some of the most significant and dynamic artists working today.”

Born in Chicago and now based in New York, Rashid Johnson studied photography at the Art Institute of Chicago, but his practice has since expanded to embrace sculpture, painting, drawing, filmmaking, and installation. Through spontaneous and unmediated mark-making, his work addresses the existential conditions of his own life as well as life itself, resulting in compositions that are both autobiographical and metaphorical.

The latest Lenhardt acquisition, Johnson’s Untitled Anxious Bruise Drawing (2021) is part of a new series of drawings and paintings by the artist titled Bruise. The series, which recently debuted in the artist’s solo exhibition Black and Blue at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles, develops themes presented in Johnson’s Anxious Red series that he created during the pandemic to explore the anxiety, isolation, and loss felt by many due to COVID-19. These Bruise works, including Untitled Anxious Bruise Drawing, use gridded compositions of expressive half-geometric, half-human faces in various shades of blue to conjure the feelings of aftermath, reckoning, and healing that have now taken hold of people from all walks of life, all over the globe. They also draw from the mood and lyrics of the Fats Waller jazz standard “Black and Blue,” which was made popular by Louis Armstrong and is an important motif in Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man. In this way, the paintings reflect not just the immediate impact of violent social changes sparked by the pandemic and the intensification of hostilities across political lines, but how current social moments and movements are indicative of ongoing, historical inequities.

“In a relatively short amount of time, Rashid Johnson has developed an intensive practice that has embraced a wide range of media,” said Gilbert Vicario, the Museum’s curator of modern and contemporary art. “Johnson’s Bruise Drawings, part of his most recent body of work, demonstrate his capacity to simultaneously draw from figuration and abstraction to evoke aspects of African-American intellectual history and cultural identity through the emotionally and psychologically charged lens of the past two years.”

Solo exhibitions of Johnson’s work have been presented nationally and internationally, including at Museo Tamayo, Mexico City; Milwaukee Art Museum; Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow; and Drawing Center, New York. His first feature-length film, an adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released in 2019 on HBO, and his interactive installation and sound work is open through Fall 2021 at MoMA PS1 in Queens, New York. Johnson’s work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and now, Phoenix Art Museum.

“Dawn and I are thrilled that Phoenix Art Museum has added this spectacular work by Rashid Johnson into its collection,” said David Lenhardt, who also serves as the vice chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “Johnson’s visceral paintings spark important and timely conversations around prevalent social inequities. We are inspired by the ways Johnson uses his platform to give back to various communities and how his practice and civic commitments inspire younger artists working today. We are grateful for the opportunity to help Phoenix Art Museum acquire this work so that it will be represented in the institution’s contemporary art collection in perpetuity.”

For more information about this latest acquisition or the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2105 or samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative
Made possible through the generosity of the Arizona-based Lenhardt family, the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative was established in 2017 to deepen the Museum’s commitment to contemporary art through various programs, namely the Lenhardt Lectures, which engage Valley audiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world; the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund, which enables Phoenix Art Museum to collect works by contemporary artists; and the Dawn and David Lenhardt Gallery, designated for the presentation of contemporary art, including works acquired with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative, loans from national and local collectors, and a rotating series of artworks from the Lenhardts’ own collection. In 2021, the initiative was expanded to support the diversification of the contemporary art collection of Phoenix Art Museum through the acquisition of works by artists contributing to discourses on race, gender, and other socially relevant concerns, including those by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and women artists, among others.

Since 2017, the Museum has acquired artworks by Shara Hughes, Arcmanoro Niles, Derek Fordjour, and Rashid Johnson with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. Since 2018, the annual Lenhardt Lectures have presented renowned artists Jim Hodges, Shara Hughes, Daniel Joseph Martinez, Arcmanoro Niles, Teresita Fernández, Amalia Mesa-Bains, and Derek Fordjour.

About Rashid Johnson
Rashid Johnson (b. 1977, Chicago) is recognized as one of the major voices of his generation. Johnson composes searing meditations on race and class while establishing an organic formal vocabulary that fuses various sculptural and painterly traditions. Though he employs materials drawn from specific autobiographical contexts—including those related to African-American intellectual and imaginative life—and though his practice had its beginnings in photography and conceptual art, Johnson is equally interested in testing the ability of abstract visual languages to communicate across cultural boundaries. The breadth and generosity of his vision has resulted in a wide range of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects, installations, videos, and performances.

In addition to presenting his September 2021 solo exhibition at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles, Johnson debuted large-scale artworks commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, which will be on view at the opera house during the 2021–2022 season. A major outdoor sculpture by the artist was recently installed at Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, New York. Stage, Johnson’s interactive installation and sound work, is open through fall 2021 at MoMA PS1 in Queens, New York. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions including Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2019); Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2019); Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City (2017); Milwaukee Art Museum (2017); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2016); and Drawing Center, New York (2015). His work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. His first feature-length film, an adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on HBO in 2019. Johnson lives and works in New York.

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PHOENIX (February 25, 2021) –Phoenix Art Museum announces the expansion of the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative to support the diversification of its contemporary art collection through the acquisition of works by artists contributing to discourses on race, gender, and other social concerns that are relevant to the Phoenix community and society at large. These efforts will entail collecting works by a range of artists working today, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and women artists, among others. This reimagining of the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative supports the Museum’s previously stated goals of examining and diversifying its permanent collection. The Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative was originally established in 2017 through the support of Valley philanthropists Dawn and David Lenhardt to deepen the Museum’s commitment to contemporary art through various programs, including the Lenhardt Lectures, the Lenhardt Emerging Artist Acquisition Fund, and the Dawn and David Lenhardt Gallery. Going forward, funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative will also be allocated so that the Museum may specifically focus on acquiring works of art that contribute to the diversification of its contemporary art collection.

“We are deeply grateful to Dawn and David Lenhardt for spearheading and generously funding an initiative that is so crucial to the mission of Phoenix Art Museum,” said Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “The Lenhardt family has made it possible for the Museum to focus our efforts on addressing the historic underrepresentation of various communities in the institution’s collection by acquiring works that better reflect the diverse community we serve today. It is our hope that others who support Phoenix Art Museum and have the means to do so will join the Museum and the Lenhardts in fulfilling this vision of a more inclusive collection.”

The Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative was established in 2017 with the goal of providing continuous funding for contemporary art acquisitions by emerging artists and public programs that would raise the Museum’s profile on a national scale. Without an annual budget for new acquisitions, the Museum has, historically, relied upon such gifts from its donor community and its support groups to procure funding for acquisitions of new artworks. Through this initial gift, the Museum was able to acquire a number of significant works by artists emerging on the national scene, including Shara Hughes and Arcmanoro Niles. Annual Lenhardt Lectures further strengthened the Museum’s contemporary art program by presenting and exposing the Phoenix community to internationally renowned artists such as Jim Hodges, Daniel Joseph Martinez, and, most recently, Teresita Fernández and Amalia Mesa-Bains. Now, the expansion of the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative will also highlight artists whose diverse narratives are meaningful to the Phoenix community and beyond.  

“We saw an opportunity to expand our initiative in a way that could support the Museum’s efforts to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said David Lenhardt, who also serves as the Vice Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “Not only will this initiative grow the contemporary art collection—it will also enrich the collection and related programming with diverse perspectives and experiences that reflect our current moment. Through these acquisitions as well as annual lectures that bring these artists to the Valley of the Sun, Phoenix Art Museum will contribute to an urgent dialogue that better reflects the multicultural reality of our nation.”

In commitment to this broadened focus, the Museum has acquired The Futility of Achievement (2020) by New York-based artist Derek Fordjour with funds provided by the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative. The large-scale painting was recently featured in the exhibition SELF MUST DIE at Petzel Gallery in New York City, which contrasted the inevitability of actual death with the aspirational death of the artist’s ego. Fordjour, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to parents of Ghanaian heritage, earned his BA at Morehouse College, his MA in Art Education at Harvard University, and an MFA in Painting at Hunter College. He has exhibited at notable institutions around the world and received commissions for various public projects, including a permanent installation for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City at 145th Street Subway Station and The Whitney Museum’s Billboard Project. Fordjour’s work appears in several national collections, including The Studio Museum of Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Dallas Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, LACMA, and now, Phoenix Art Museum. The Futility of Achievement (2020) will be on view at Phoenix Art Museum beginning spring 2021, and Fordjour will be the featured speaker in the Lenhardt Lecture this fall. 

“The Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative is critical for the development and evolution of contemporary art at Phoenix Art Museum,” said Gilbert Vicario, the institution’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and the Selig Family Chief Curator, who oversees the Museum’s contemporary art programs. “While it allows the Museum to continue refining our national reputation through the development of a collection program that features some of the most compelling artists working today, the initiative also assists with the Museum’s commitment to greater representation and diversity within our collection. This opportunity truly would not have been possible without the vision and passion of the Lenhardt family, who see it not only as their privilege to support these efforts but their responsibility.”

For more information about the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative and Phoenix Art Museum, contact the Museum’s Communications Office at 602.307.2003 or samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org.

About the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative

Made possible through the generosity of the Arizona-based Lenhardt family, the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative was established in 2017 to deepen the Museum’s commitment to contemporary art through various programs, namely the Lenhardt Lectures, which engage Valley audiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world; the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund, which enables Phoenix Art Museum to collect works by contemporary artists; and the Dawn and David Lenhardt Gallery, designated for the presentation of contemporary art, including works acquired with funds from the Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative, loans from national and local collectors, and a rotating series of artworks from the Lenhardts’ own collection. In 2021, the initiative was expanded to support the diversification of the contemporary art collection at Phoenix Art Museum through the acquisition of works by artists contributing to discourses on race, gender, and other social concerns that are relevant to the Phoenix community and society at large, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and women artists, among others.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 350,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

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PHOENIX (February 14, 2020) – A new exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum will present for the first time more than 40 recently acquired works of contemporary Latin American art to explore how the visual language of abstraction has generated profound insights into Latin American culture and politics and how Latin American artists have drawn on abstraction’s history within the region as well as the United States and Europe. Stories of Abstraction: Contemporary Latin American Art celebrates the contemporary artworks gifted to the Museum in 2018 by Nicholas Pardon, co-founder of the former SPACE collection—the largest collection of post-1990s abstract Latin American art in the United States. Featuring work by 25 artists from eight countries, the exhibition opens a window onto this important genre of contemporary art and explores how abstraction is used to visualize the social philosophies of the present. Stories of Abstraction will be on view at Phoenix Art Museum from May 2 through September 20, 2020. 

“Stories of Abstraction seeks to uncover the ways in which Latin American artists have used abstraction as both a vehicle to explore key issues relating to society and a tool to recast sometimes radical civic discourse,” said Gilbert Vicario, the Museum’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and the Selig Family Chief Curator who curated the exhibition. “The title of the exhibition intends to make clear that there are complex narratives within these abstract works. The exhibition also furthers the Museum’s dedication to preserving and presenting significant works by Latin American artists, as well as its commitment to developing original scholarship that examines the meaning and underpinnings of abstract Latin American art. As our Phoenix community is more than 40% Latinx, Stories of Abstraction offers a timely examination of the visual language of Latin American abstraction, one that we believe our visitors can relate to and find inspiring and exciting.”

The recent acquisition of 112 works of art from Pardon, including paintings, sculptures, installations, and works on paper, represents a nearly 300% increase in the Museum’s holdings of contemporary Latin American art. Featuring artwork from the most innovative artists working in Latin America in recent years and today, including seven women artists, Stories of Abstraction makes accessible a wide range of compelling artwork from Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Honduras, and Guatemala. Stories of Abstraction will historically contextualize the exhibition’s contemporary works by placing them alongside key artworks from earlier decades to clarify Latin American abstraction’s relationship to other abstract movements. Historical works by Alexander Calder, Pedro Friedeberg, Carlos Mérida, Frank Stella, Bridget Riley, and Jesús Rafael Soto, among others, will complement more contemporary works from the Museum’s collection.

Key highlights from the exhibition include:

• Honduran artist Adán Vallecillo’s Pantones (2013), in which six hanging banners made of moto-taxi covers are placed in dialogue with each other. The work highlights the use of nontraditional materials in Latin American abstraction and encourages viewers to engage with and walk along its stratified banners to examine the visual continuities and obscurities between each layer.

• Venezuelan artist Emilia Azcárate’s La mar de letras (2013), a five-paneled work exploring language and written communication, features illegible strings of letters from an old typewriter in a radiant green ink. By visualizing mechanical, repetitive, and obsessive forms of mark-making on paper, Azcárate creates an indecipherable sea of letters to prompt reflection on the complications and fallibility of language and to turn a coherent system of writing into a complex abstraction.

• Colombian artist Gabriel Sierra’s Sin título (siete conejos) (2001-2013), a sculptural installation consisting of glue and straw bricks arranged in descending scale, continues the artist’s exploration of the languages of design and architecture. Sierra uses straw as a vernacular material for construction to signify humans’ modification of nature and adaptation to the environment. Engaging ideas of community, habitat, and urbanism, Sierra manipulates architectural dynamics to examine the forces governing human interaction with built environments.

• Argentinian artist Sergio Vega’s Shanty Nucleus After Derrida 2 (2011-2013), which presents yellow monochrome planes suspended in space, creates an array of configurations and walkways that enable an interactive viewing experience. These various planes constitute the color ground on which photographs of “shanty” homes have been mounted to create fragmented sculptural formations inspired by Derrida’s theory of deconstruction.

As an exploration of how abstraction is employed in contemporary Latin American art to convey specific emotions, stories, and ideas stemming from the cultural and political zeitgeist, Stories of Abstraction introduces new narratives within the work of Latin American artists. Providing an overview of post-1990s abstraction from various geographies in Latin America, the exhibition seeks to address the multitude of ways in which artwork lacking figuration or recognizable characters can generate insightful commentary and even political change.

“Stories of Abstraction places the Museum at the forefront of conversations surrounding scholarship, exhibition practices, and the global significance of contemporary Latin American art,” said Vicario. “The exhibition will foster new dialogues in the Phoenix community and beyond and provide the opportunity to learn about the significant achievements of Latin America’s foremost abstract artists.”

About the Exhibition

Stories of Abstraction: Contemporary Latin American Art will be on view from May 2 through September 20, 2020 in Steele Gallery. It is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. The exhibition features objects donated to the Phoenix Art Museum collection by Nicholas Pardon.

This special-engagement exhibition is free for Museum Members; veterans and active-duty military and their families; and youth aged 5 and younger.

General admission:

$23 — Adults

$20 — Senior citizens (Ages 65+)

$18 — Students (with ID)

$14 — Children (Ages 6–17)

All special-engagement exhibitions are included with general admission. During voluntary-donation times when general admission is pay what you wish, admission to Stories of Abstraction is $5. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from
3 – 9 pm and the first Friday of each month from 6 – 10 pm, with free admission for youth 17 and younger on the last Saturday of each month. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, please see bit.ly/VisitPhxArt.

To request interviews and high-resolution photography, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.307.2003 or samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

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PHOENIX (September 27, 2019) – On November 13, 2019, Phoenix Art Museum will present Brooklyn-based contemporary artist Arcmanoro Niles as the speaker for the Museum’s second annual Lenhardt Emerging Artist Lecture. A classically trained figurative painter known for his highly saturated portraits within domestic settings, Niles was a recipient of the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation grant in 2017. He regularly utilizes Renaissance techniques to recall vulnerable experiences from his own life, often from childhood memories. Niles’ diptych Does a Broken Home Become a Broken Family (2019), which was recently acquired by the Museum with funds provided by the Dawn and David Lenhardt Emerging Artist Acquisition Fund, is on view in the Museum’s 60th anniversary exhibition, PhxArt60: The Past Decade, through January 26, 2020. The lecture is open to the public and will begin at 7 pm on November 13, 2019 in the Museum’s Whiteman Hall. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $5 for Museum Members, and free for Circles of Support and Friends of Contemporary Art (FCA) members.

“We are thrilled to welcome Arcmanoro Niles to Phoenix as the second speaker in the Lenhardt Emerging Artist Lecture Series,” said Gilbert Vicario, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and the Selig Family Chief Curator of Phoenix Art Museum.  “Through the ongoing generosity of Dawn and David Lenhardt, the Museum continues to bring some of the most innovative emerging and established contemporary artists and their works to our community, helping to reinforce Phoenix Art Museum as a nationally recognized destination for contemporary art. We are excited to present Niles and his bold work to our audiences in Arizona as we celebrate the Museum’s 60^th anniversary.”

The Museum hosted the inaugural Lenhardt Emerging Artist Lecture in October 2018 and welcomed Shara Hughes, a stand-out from the 2017 Whitney Biennial, as the speaker. This year’s Emerging Artist Lecture will feature Arcmanoro Niles (b. 1989), a Brooklyn-based artist who was born in Washington, D.C. Niles earned a BFA from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and an MFA from New York Academy of Art before attending the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He has participated in exhibitions at the Rachel Uffner Gallery (New York, NY); University of Delaware (Newark, Del.); the David C. Driskell Center (College Park, Md.); Long Gallery (New York, N.Y.); Guild Hall (East Hampton, N.Y.); and Shanghai University (Shanghai, China); among others. His work is included in the collections of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art. A recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, Niles comes to Phoenix Art Museum after presenting several exhibitions from Los Angeles to New York City.

“The Lenhardt Emerging Artist Lecture Series aims to introduce Phoenix audiences to some of the nation’s most promising contemporary artists,” said David Lenhardt, a member of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “Arcmanoro’s work features impactful imagery that encourages viewers to consider important topics, and Dawn and I are delighted to welcome him as this year’s speaker.”

Niles is best known for juxtaposing classic technique such as narrative and drama within contemporary subject matter. Using a signature palette of oranges, blues, and purples, and framing faces in halos of glitter, the artist’s body of work also references European religious portraits. Another interesting feature of his style are the “seekers,” which according to Niles, represent “external” forces. The artist’s painting Does a Broken Home Become a Broken Family (2019) is on view in PhxArt60: The Past Decade, the Museum’s 60^th anniversary exhibition highlighting art acquisitions since 2009. Niles is one of 30 artists of color represented in the exhibition, which showcases more than 70 works of art. Moreover, the acquisition of Niles’ work furthers the Museum’s commitment to building a 21^st-century collection in which diverse perspectives, including those of artists of color, women, and LGBTQI+ artists, are better represented.

For interviews or to request more information on the Lenhardt Emerging Artist Lecture, contact the Marketing and Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2105 or margaree.bigler@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 350,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative

Made possible through the generosity of the Arizona-based Lenhardt family, the Dawn and David Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative aims to deepen the Museum’s commitment to contemporary art through various programs. The Lenhardt Lecture engages Valley audiences with some of the most acclaimed contemporary artists in the world; the Lenhardt Emerging Artist Acquisition Fund is designed to enable the Museum to specifically collect works by next-generation contemporary artists; the Lenhardt Emerging Artist Lecture Series introduces Valley audiences to emerging contemporary artists on a national scale; and the Dawn and David Lenhardt Gallery, designated for the presentation of contemporary art, includes works acquired with funds from the Lenhardt Emerging Artist Acquisition Fund, loans from national and local collectors, and a rotating series of artworks from the Lenhardts’ own collection.

About PhxArt60: The Past Decade

PhxArt60: The Past Decade showcases more than 70 artworks acquired over the 10 years after the 50th anniversary of Phoenix Art Museum in 2009. The exhibition demonstrates the Museum’s firm commitment to diversity and artistic excellence through a careful selection of works from the departments of modern and contemporary art, Latin American art, American art, Asian art, and fashion design. Of particular note are recently acquired historic photographs by Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, and Bruce Davidson that complement the Museum’s permanent collections. In addition, the arrangement of works in the exhibitionopens up the possibility for interdepartmental conversations to emerge as a way of engaging a contemporary, globalized view of visual culture. PhxArt60: The Past Decade is open to the general public during voluntary-donation, pay-what-you-wish hours from 3–9 pm each Wednesday, from 6–10 pm on the first Friday of each month, and from noon–5 pm on the second Sunday of each month.

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PHOENIX (December 2018) –Phoenix Art Museum is the recipient of a significant gift from Nicholas Pardon, co-founder of the SPACE Collection, the largest collection of post-1990s abstract art from Latin America in the United States featuring major works by artists recognized as the pioneers of their generation. The gift includes 112 artworks by 49 artists from 14 Latin American countries and represents a 280% increase in the Museum’s holdings of contemporary Latin American art. Previously, the Museum’s Latin American art collection included approximately 40 contemporary artworks.

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PHOENIX (October 1, 2018) –Phoenix Art Museum presents the Southwestern US premiere of work by Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson (b. 1976), one of the most celebrated contemporary artists in the world, in Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths. From November 3, 2018 through April 14, 2019 in the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Wing for Modern Art, guests can experience three multisensory works by the artist that explore themes of Nordic identity, melancholia, repetition, and popular culture. Known for the performative aspects of his art, Kjartansson has displayed his works in renowned museums around the world, including the Migros Museum in Switzerland, The Guggenheim in New York City, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Phoenix Art Museum becomes one of only ten American museums to welcome the addition of “The Visitors” to their collection.  

“We are eager to present the work of this important contemporary artist to Phoenix,” said Amada Cruz, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “Ragnar’s work will give residents and visitors of our city the opportunity to have a shared experience that transcends generations and languages. We are excited to bring the world of Scandinavian Pain to our community.”

Kjartansson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland. Growing up, his mother was an actress and his father was a director and playwright. This theater-centric upbringing would later inform his artistic practice as he experimented with durational and repetitive performance pieces, attempting to discover new meaning in the simplest of words and actions through reiteration and time progression.

The exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum will showcase three works by the artist, including The Visitors, one of Kjartansson’s best-known pieces. The hour-long, nine-screen video installation features nine performers, including Kjartansson, in different rooms of the hauntingly beautiful Rokeby Farm in New York’s Hudson Valley. Each performer is shown playing an instrument and singing a song with lyrics by Kjartansson’s ex-wife. As with many of Kjartansson’s works, the song lyrics are limited and simple, but through repetition, their meaning changes as the installation progresses, resulting in an emotionally charged and moving experience.  As critic Hilarie Sheets from The New York Times noted, “[T]he singers created an entirely absorbing ensemble piece that was alternately tragic and joyful, meditative and clamorous, and that swelled in feeling from melancholic fugue to redemptive gospel choir.”

Also featured in the exhibition is the 40-fot long neon installation titled Scandinavian Pain, along with The End, a prime example of endurance-based art and Kjartansson’s contribution to the 2009 Venice Biennale. Secluding himself in a fourteenth-century palazzo, Kjartansson made one painting per day for six months, each depicting the same friend in a Speedo. The resulting—and rarely exhibited—144-piece installation, displayed in a salon-style space, is at once complex and over-simplified, making it a can’t-miss experience for the Phoenix community.

“We are excited to share works by Ragnar Kjartansson with Phoenix Art Museum guests,” said Gilbert Vicario, the Selig Family Chief Curator and the curator of the exhibition. “Ragnar is one of the most interesting performance artists working today, and The Visitors is considered one of the best video installations of the last 20 years.”

Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths offers Museum guests the chance to experience first-hand one of today’s rising contemporary stars. Kjartansson’s artwork is more than a series of paintings or a simple video; it is a master-class in elevating the mediocre, playfully facing failure, and finding new ways for audiences to personally experience the artistic process without even lifting a paintbrush.

About the Exhibition

Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths will be on view from November 3, 2018 through April 14, 2019 in the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Wing for Modern Art, and is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and curated by Gilbert Vicario, the Selig Family Chief Curator. Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths is made possible through the generosity of the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty, and retired military and their families; Maricopa Community College students, staff, and faculty (with ID); and youth aged 5 and under. Entrance to the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary donation, pay-what-you-wish admission hours (no General Admission required), the exhibition is offered free to the general public. Pay-What-You-Wish times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, the first Fridays of every month from 6 – 10 pm, and the second Sunday of each month from noon – 5pm. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see bit.ly/VisitPhxArt.

To request interviews and high-resolution photography, contact Phoenix Art Museum’s Marketing and Communications Office at 602.257.2105 or margaree.bigler@phxart.org.

Exhibition Programs and Events

First Friday | November 2,  6 – 10 pm

Celebrate the special First-Friday exhibition preview of Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and OtherMyths on November 2! This is a free event open during voluntary-donation times at the Museum. Please check phxart.org/events/calendar for updates.

The pARTy in the Garden | November 3,  6:30 pm

This exclusive annual gala kicks off a full year of celebrations leading up to the Museum’s 60^th anniversary. Featuring an inside look at an anniversary-themed fashion installation, an exclusive viewing of Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths, fine food, custom cocktails, dancing under the stars, and the gala’s first-ever guest of honor, Arizona State University President Michael Crow, The pARTy in the Garden will play an essential role in supporting Phoenix Art Museum. All proceeds from the event will support exhibitions and education programs at the Museum.

The afterpARTy  |  November 3, 9:00 pm

The afterpARTy is the late-night, art-gala experience at Phoenix Art Museum, immediately following The pARTy in the Garden annual gala and is inspired by Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths, featuring the acclaimed video installation The Visitors. Named after the final album of Swedish supergroup ABBA, the immersive installation is spoken of as one the best video installations of all time. See it exclusively at The afterpARTy!

Tickets  |  $75 per person

Your ticket includes:

• Creative cocktails and an open bar
• An array of sweets and delicious hors-d’oeuvres
• An exclusive viewing of Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths
• Dancing with live music inspired by Scandinavian Pain (hint: ABBA tributes!)and beyond
• Exclusive late-night access to the Museum and special, one-night only installations

For more information or to purchase tickets or sponsorships, please visit tickets.phxart.org or contact specialevents@phxart.org or 602.307.2012.

Discount Tire Free Family Sunday| Second Sunday of each month, noon – 5pm

Don’t miss Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and OtherMyths during voluntary-donation times on the second Sunday of each month! Guests will also enjoy exciting activities, scavenger hunts, live performances, story time, free tours, and more. Please check phxart.org/events/calendar for updates.

About Ragnar Kjartansson

Ragnar Kjartansson (b. 1976) lives and works in Reykjavík, Iceland. He draws on the entire arc of art in his performative practice, and the histories of film, music, theatre, visual culture, and literature often inform his video installations, durational performances, drawings, and paintings. The artist also uses pretending and staging in his work in an attempt to convey sincere emotion and offer a genuine experience to the audience. Kjartansson has had solo exhibitions at the Reykjavík Art Museum; the Barbican Centre, London; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Park, Washington D.C.; the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; the Palais de Tokyo, Paris; the New Museum, New York; the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich; the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; the Frankfurter Kunstverein; and the BAWAG Contemporary, Vienna. He participated in The Encyclopedic Palace at the Venice Biennale in 2013 and Manifesta 10 in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2014, and he represented Iceland at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Kjartansson is the recipient of the 2015 Artes Mundi’s Derek Williams Trust Purchase Award and Performa’s 2011 Malcolm McLaren Award.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for nearly 60 years and is the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions are shown alongside the Museum’s permanent collection of more than 19,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents festivals, a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed to enlighten, entertain, and stimulate visitors of all ages. Visitors also enjoy vibrant photography exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visitphxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

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