PHOENIX (August 4, 2025) – This fall, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) presents Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan, organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Collection. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to discover the technical achievements and creativity of leading women ceramicists from post-war Japan, highlighting their discovery of new possibilities for clay and its potential as a radical medium. Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan will be on view at PhxArt from September 24, 2025 – August 9, 2026. 

“It is a privilege for Phoenix Art Museum to present Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “Selected from the private collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, long-time supporters of Phoenix Art Museum, this exhibition highlights an incredible selection of innovative artists who have expanded the creative boundaries of ceramics as a medium. This is a rare opportunity to experience the technical advancement and innovation in contemporary Japanese art and complements the Museum’s historical works in the institution’s Asian Art Collection.”

Radical Clay celebrates the originality and virtuosity of 36 women artists from Japan who have explored sculptural expression outside the traditional field of Japanese studio ceramics since the 1970s. The exhibition’s 40 avant-garde works are drawn from the Horvitz Collection, considered one of the leading collections of Japanese contemporary ceramics outside of Japan, and explore wide-ranging content and motifs, including the human body, geology, flora, and fantastical abstract forms. Through the evocative display, visitors discover an often-overlooked history of Japanese women artists who have made significant contributions to the traditionally male-dominated field of ceramics since World War II. Featured works demonstrate these artists’ bold approaches to form, color, and surface texture, as well as the ways in which they have resisted gendered expectations by working in so-called “masculine” modes while depicting traditionally “feminine” subjects, including in large scale. An example of one of these captivating works includes Erosion No. 4 Shokka (Eroding Flower) (2021) by Shingu Sayaka, whose floral sculpture aims to capture both the fragility and strength of nature and the medium of ceramics. Thin needles of clay, each shaped by hand, are gathered into tufts evocative of the inside of a flower, with somber colors that suggest a sense of decay and the passage of time.

“Visitors will see a wide sweep of sculptures in Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan, from the innovative to the expressive to the mysterious,” said Colin Pearson, Curator of Asian Art at Phoenix Art Museum. “The exhibition is a powerful opportunity to discover the many ways technically accomplished ceramicists—many of whom have long been overlooked in their field—have pushed the physical limits of the medium, stepping outside the conventional nature of working with clay despite societal and cultural expectations.” 

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue published by the Art Institute of Chicago. It features contributions by Hollis Goodall, former Curator of Japanese Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Janice Katz, Roger L. Weston Associate Curator of Japanese Art.  

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

About the Exhibition

Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan is organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Collection and curated by Janice Katz, Roger L. Weston Curator of Japanese Art. Its presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Colin Pearson, Curator of Asian Art. 

The exhibition is presented by Katharine and Nicholas J. Feduska, M.D. and E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

All contemporary art exhibitions and projects are made possible in part by the Rob Walton, Jordan Rose, and Rose Law Group Fund for Contemporary Art.

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; 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 – 8 pm, made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix, and First Fridays from 5 – 8 pm, made possible by APS and Lexus, with additional support from Arizona Community Foundation. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

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.

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PHOENIX (July 2, 2025) – Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) announces the appointment of two new curators: Colin Pearson as the institution’s Curator for Asian Art and Dr. JoAnna Reyes as its new Adjunct Curator for Art of the Americas. Reyes’ role is a collaborative appointment between Phoenix Art Museum and the School of Art in Arizona State University’s (ASU) Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. In their respective roles, Pearson will develop exhibitions that draw from and highlight the Museum’s expansive Asian art collection, and Reyes will curate exhibitions across the Museum’s American, Western American, Latin American, and Spanish Colonial art collections. Both Pearson and Reyes assume their roles effective immediately. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Colin Pearson and JoAnna Reyes to the outstanding curatorial team at Phoenix Art Museum,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “Both Colin and JoAnna have deep expertise and significant experience within their respective fields and bring fresh, innovative perspectives to the presentation of the PhxArt Collection’s rich holdings. We are excited to see how their exhibitions engage and educate our audiences in new ways, reaffirming the Museum’s role as a space of belonging that reflects the breadth of experiences represented across our community.”

“I am both excited and humbled to be appointed as Phoenix Art Museum’s third curator of Asian art, and I look forward to sharing this incredibly rich collection with audiences in a variety of new ways,” said Pearson. “I feel passionately that the physical distance between Arizona and the places where these wonderful artworks originate does not need to be a barrier to the appreciation of their beauty. By approaching the collection with an open mind, I seek to help audiences discover what makes the artistic traditions of Asia distinct, highlight the intercultural exchanges that have always connected us, and make Asian art accessible and relevant for the diverse and family-oriented audiences here in the Valley of the Sun.”

“I am excited to join the curatorial team at Phoenix Art Museum and explore the Museum’s incredible collection of art from across the Americas,” said Reyes. “By taking a hemispheric approach, I hope to create exhibitions that highlight the migrations, exchanges, and shared stories that have shaped the region, with the goal of sparking new conversations and understanding of the art of the Americas.”

About Colin Pearson

Colin Pearson assumes his new role as PhxArt’s Curator of Asian Art, bringing over a decade of experience curating collections of Asian artworks, ceramics, craft items, musical instruments, and ethnographic artifacts, with expertise on the effects of maritime and Silk Road trade routes on the arts of Tibet, China, and India. He previously served as the Museum’s adjunct curator of Asian art since 2024, overseeing the refresh of the Art of Asia galleries and curating exhibitions such as Chardi Kala: Rising Above Adversity, a presentation of Sikh artworks exploring the concept of unwavering optimism in the face of hardship. This year, Pearson will serve as coordinating curator for the Museum’s presentation of Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan, organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, and lead curator for the exhibition Flowers of the Punjab: Textiles of India and Beyond, both opening in September 2025.

In addition to his work at PhxArt, Pearson has collaborated on curatorial projects at Arizona State University (ASU) and catalogued a collection of nearly 200 textiles, artworks, and ethnographic objects for ASU’s Center for Asian Research. From 2020 to 2022, Pearson served as a curator for the Zayed National Museum in the United Arab Emirates, cultivating and sharing his extensive knowledge of ceramics and other export goods traded along overland and maritime routes from China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and India. As a curator at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix from 2009 to 2020, Pearson organized special exhibitions of custom-inlaid guitars and Chinese antiquities. He also expanded the institution’s collection of instruments and artifacts from Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, as well as instruments from Europe and North America. 

Pearson has delivered public talks and lectures on a wide range of topics relating to Asian art, including the musical and artistic cultures of Asia, connoisseurship and classification schemes, and the global legacies of cultural interactions throughout history. He earned his Bachelor of Music at California State University, Long Beach and his Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology from the University of California at Riverside. He is currently working toward his PhD in Asian Art History at Arizona State University.

About Dr. JoAnna Reyes

Dr. JoAnna Reyes’s collaborative appointment as the Adjunct Curator for Art of the Americas at Phoenix Art Museum and Assistant Professor of Art History and Museum Studies at Arizona State University (ASU) further deepens the collaboration between the leading art museum in the Southwest and one of the largest comprehensive arts programs at a public research university in the U.S. In her new role at PhxArt, Reyes will curate exhibitions across the Museum’s American, Western American, Latin American, and Spanish Colonial art collections, expanding opportunities for audiences to consider connections across borders, time periods, and cultures.

Reyes’ first curatorial project at the Museum will be a collection installation in the institution’s newly renovated Art of the Americas and Europe galleries, which are re-opening in November 2025. Drawing from the Museum’s Spanish Colonial and Latin American art collections, Reyes will highlight the traditions and innovations in the viceregal art of Latin America, and how artists of the period drew inspiration from Asian art objects and prints from Northern Europe to create innovative, sophisticated, and nuanced works imbued with traditional Indigenous techniques, Catholic devotional imagery, and new iconographies invented to honor local saints and miracles. The installation will also showcase contemporary works that exemplify how Latin American artists today reference this period in their practices. 

In addition to her curatorial work, this fall Reyes will teach an ASU art history seminar, located in the Museum’s Education building. Reyes will use the PhxArt collection and new North Wing collection galleries to focus on a period between the 15^th and 16^thcenturies often referred to as the Age of Discovery, when Europeans developed a growing fascination with collecting a wide array of antiquities, natural specimens, books, prints, drawings, paintings, and other projects, largely influenced by the exploration and colonization of the Americas. Students will examine the practices and theoretical frameworks that informed early modern collecting and how they evolved into contemporary museological contexts, particularly around topics of repatriation, restitution, and deaccessioning.

A specialist in the visual and material culture of viceregal Latin American and contemporary Chicana/o America, Reyes explores identity, art patronage, and how images and symbols, particularly from border regions, shape our understanding of place and culture. She developed the 2025 exhibition Agua es Vida at the Rio Salado Audubon Center and Samouraï: Armure du Guerrier (2011) at the musée du Quai Branly with the Barbier-Mueller Museum (Dallas), published an entry in Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500-1800 (Delmonico, 2022), and co-authored an article in Feminist Formations (John Hopkins University Press, 2022), among other ongoing writing and book projects. 

Reyes, who earned her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, worked at the Getty Research Institute and served as the curatorial assistant at LACMA (2013-2015) and Mellon Fellow (2016-2017). Previously, she worked at the Hispanic Society Museum and Library (NY) and the Barbier-Mueller Museum, and from 2016-2019, she served as the book review editor for Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies. 

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art and fashion 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 art experiences. Each year, more than 250,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions, as well as 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. The Museum also presents vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson and is home to The Gene and Cathy Lemon Art Research Library, The Thorne Miniature Rooms, The Ullman Center for the Art of Philip C. Curtis, and Arizona Costume Institute (ACI). For the community, PhxArt hosts lectures, live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education workshops, family-focused programs, and more. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880. 

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PHOENIX (September 8, 2022) – This fall, Phoenix Art Museum will present Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, the first U.S. solo exhibition in more than five years to exclusively showcase the work of Mr., one of today’s most popular Japanese artists. Spanning the late 1990s to 2022, the exhibition features nearly 50 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and video works, including a recent Museum acquisition and a new 30-foot-long canvas that will enjoy its world premiere at Phoenix Art Museum. These vivid and often chaotic works—a large selection of which were created in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic—draw influence from anime, manga, and virtual fantasy worlds to examine themes of desire, tragedy, and psychological anguish. Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town will be on view in Steele Gallery at Phoenix Art Museum from November 6, 2022 through March 12, 2023, following a First-Friday preview and community celebration on November 4, 2022 from 6 – 9 pm. The exhibition is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Ronald and Valery Harrar, Men’s Arts Council, Ms. Isabelle Georgeaux, Kevie Yang, The Japan Foundation–Los Angeles, and the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

“During this particular moment in history, marked by turbulent current events nationally and abroad that are reshaping the ways we interact with each other and how we reflect on our respective societies, Mr.: You Can Hear The Song of This Town provides insight into the mind of an artist who uses his practice to respond to global tragedies while exploring his own anxieties, frustrations, and angst,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “We are excited to present this compelling body of work—a reminder of art’s power to help us explore complex emotions that affect individuals across cultures—as we continue the Museum’s mission of creating points of connection and uniting people of different backgrounds through various forms of artistic expression.”

A self-described member of the otaku subculture—characterized by obsessive interests in anime, manga, video games, and other forms of Japanese popular culture—Mr. creates paintings, sculptures, videos, and installations that explore his personal fantasies and represent a wider reflection on solitude, fear, desire, and trauma. Informed by manga (a genre of Japanese art that includes comics and graphic novels) and anime (derived from the English term “animation” and used for cartoons in Japan), the artist’s works feature kawaii (or “cute”) style characters with wide eyes, colorful hair, and round, childlike faces that are meant to evoke feelings of moe (a profound adoration of or infatuation with fictional figures). These cartoonish subjects are often set against graffiti-like backdrops, which echo the traumatic loss of life in Japan during both World War II and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

“Mr. is most closely associated with Superflat, the post-modern art movement founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, with whom Mr. worked for a number of years before pursuing his individual practice,” said Gilbert Vicario, curator of modern and contemporary art at Phoenix Art Museum. “Mr.’s neo-pop work, however, descends from an even larger art-historical framework, drawing influence from 19^th-century ukiyo-e prints, Pop Art, and abstract expressionism. He combines these influences with elements of Japanese popular culture and references he has gleaned from the internet, presenting them in fine art to examine the social mores of Japanese society and a global community obsessed with social media.”

Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town is the first U.S. exhibition dedicated solely to the artist’s work since the 2014 Seattle Art Museum exhibition Live On: Mr.’s Japanese Neo-pop. Organized by Phoenix Art Museum, You Can Hear the Song of This Town invites visitors to explore Mr.’s vivid, imagined universe. The exhibition showcases nearly 50 works created over the past two decades, illuminating the artist’s stylistic evolution. Older works from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s feature brightly colored characters with a doe-eyed innocence, while paintings and drawings from 2018 onward mark a dramatic shift in tone and composition. Various works dated 2021—created during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—depict solitary, kawaii-style characters in black and white. Devoid of the light, cheerful expressions characteristic of the artist’s larger oeuvre, these figures perhaps reflect the loneliness, isolation, anger, and confusion millions of people around the world felt as they sheltered in place over months in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The exhibition’s sole video work, however, demonstrates that the motivations behind Mr.’s artwork have long remained the same although his visual aesthetic has shifted over time. Created in 1998, the self-produced video features the artist moving through various poses with a samurai sword and was created following a break-up, reminding viewers that Mr. has always channeled feelings of anguish and anxiety—personal and collective—into his artwork.

About the Exhibition
Mr.: You Can Hear The Song of This Town will be on view from November 6, 2022 through March 12, 2023 in Steele Gallery at Phoenix Art Museum. The exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Ronald and Valery Harrar, Men’s Arts Council, Ms. Isabelle Georgeaux, Kevie Yang, The Japan Foundation-Los Angeles, and the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. For more details about the exhibition, please click here. 

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is $5 for the general public. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, made possible by SRP and supported in part through the generosity of the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts, and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 9 pm. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

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.

Related Programming

Mr. Community Celebration: First Friday
November 4, 2022 | 6 – 9 pm
Valley audiences are invited to attend the First Friday opening celebration of Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town on November 4, 2022 from 6 – 9 pm. The evening will feature free Museum admission—including access to You Can Hear the Song of This Town—food trucks, live music, and arts-engagement programming. Details are forthcoming and will be shared on phxart.org and the Museum’s social media channels. The First Friday opening celebration of Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town is sponsored by the Men’s Arts Council.

The Men’s Arts Council (MAC) of Phoenix Art Museum, founded in January 1967, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports the Museum’s programs and activities through unique events such as the Copperstate Overland. The Men’s Arts Council’s efforts enable the organization to make annual contributions to Phoenix Art Museum’s operating budget and financially sponsor exhibitions. For more information, visit mensartscouncil.com.

Related Exhibitions

To provide historical context to Mr.: You Can Hear The Song of This Town, Phoenix Art Museum will present an outstanding selection of Japanese folk art, prints, and more beginning in December 2022.

Demonic, Divine, Human: Japan’s Noh Theater
Opening December 3, 2022
A form of classical Japanese theatre, Noh combines music, religious performance, dance, and drama. This exhibition showcases various Noh masks and the work of print artists who conveyed scenes of divine, demonic, and animal characters drawn from Noh plays. Presented at the same time as Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, Demonic, Divine, Human allows visitors to draw connections between the contemporary artist and the creators of Noh masks and scenes. In his imagined universes, Mr.’s characters draw influence from anime, manga, and other elements of Japanese culture and represent a wider reflection on solitude, social anxiety, and fear. In Noh theatre, writers drew upon folklore, historical tales, and legends to create characters inspired by humans, spirit beings, and animals. These characters were then brought to life through masks, costume, and dance. For sponsorship information, visit phxart.org.

Beauty and Function: Japanese Folk Art from the Mayro-Stelitz Collection
Opening December 3, 2022
In 1920s Japan, philosophers and craftspeople created the concept of mingei, or folk art, to challenge the narrow definition of art and uplift the beauty of everyday objects created by average people. In this exhibition, various traditional everyday objects from Japan are on view to the public for the first time, including pictorial shop signs, firefighter coats, futon covers, samurai helmets, and ceramic and metal utensils that feature folk motifs and symbolic designs. Presented at the same time as Mr.: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, Beauty and Function allows visitors to discover how Mr.’s works and historical Japanese folk art each challenge traditional definitions of fine art and reflect popular imagery from the time in which they were created. For sponsorship information, visit phxart.org.

Exquisite Enamels: Gifts of Japanese Cloisonné from Waynor and Laurie Rogers
Opening December 3, 2022
Artists began creating cloisonné centuries ago in Europe, and from there, techniques spread throughout the Middle East to China and Japan. Utilizing fine wires and glass paste, cloisonné artists created richly colored surface patterns on a variety of objects. This exhibition showcases significant examples of Japanese cloisonné from the 19th century, when cloisonné enamel techniques peaked on the island and wares became a successful export. Along with Mr: You Can Hear the Song of This Town, Exquisite Enamels illuminate how Japanese artists have long combined outside cultural influences with traditional art forms to create new styles that are rooted in history but with a modern outlook. For sponsorship information, visit 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 leading 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 Mr.
Mr. (b. 1969, Cupa, Japan, lives and works in Saitama, Japan) approaches the visual language of anime and manga as a means of examining Japanese culture, fusing high and low forms of contemporary expression. Like his fellow Superflat artists, such as Takashi Murakami, Mr. utilizes otaku, the “cute” Japanese subculture that is marked by an obsession with adolescence, manga, anime, and video games. Mr. graduated in 1996 from the Department of Fine Arts, Sokei Art School in Tokyo. Solo exhibitions of his work have been organized at HOW Art Museum, Shanghai, China (2021); Musée Guimet, Paris, France (2019); Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (2014); and Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France (2006), among others. Select group exhibitions featuring his work include MURAKAMI VS MURAKAMI, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong (2019); Bishojo: Monsters, Manga and Murakami, Musée en Herbe, Paris, France (2019); and Islands, Constellations & Galapagos, Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama, Japan (2017). His work is in numerous international public and private collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, and Daegu Art Museum in South Korea.

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PHOENIX (November 27, 2021) –This fall, Phoenix Art Museum presents The Golden Temple: Center of Sikh Faith. Featuring approximately 20 photographs, watercolor paintings, prints, and more created by Indian, American, and European artists over two centuries, the exhibition celebrates the enduring splendor of Sikhism’s central monument and place of worship, located in India. Audiences will be introduced to various artistic and architectural elements from the Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim traditions while discovering how the design of the temple reflects the tenets of Sikhism, including the belief that all creation is equal, transcending social distinctions such as caste, creed, gender, or circumstance. The Golden Temple: Center of Sikh Faith is on view from November 27, 2021 through April 24, 2022 in the Khanuja Family Sikh Heritage Gallery.

“We are delighted to share The Golden Temple: Center of Sikh Faith with our community,” said Mark Koenig, the Interim Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “This exhibition is a unique opportunity for viewers to not only deepen their knowledge on the history and culture of Sikhism but to learn about and intimately examine a range of design and architectural elements evident in this exquisite structure at the heart of the Sikh faith.”

Located in what is today the city of Amritsar in the Punjab state of northwestern India, the Golden Temple is the centralized place of worship for all Sikhs. The idea for the spiritual monument was conceived by Guru Arjan Sahib (1563–1606), the fifth Sikh Guru. Early preparations for the site began in 1577, while construction on the building began in 1588, when, according to Sikh history, Mian Mir, a Sufi Muslim saint, laid the cornerstone as a mark of interfaith collaboration. The Guru’s design for the Golden Temple placed the monument at the center, while a causeway connected the sacred structure to a circumambulatory path. Doors on the temple’s four sides symbolized the accessibility of the Sikh faith, which makes no distinction between the four Hindu castes. Builders completed construction in 1601, but through the decades, the Golden Temple was destroyed several times by invaders. The present structure dates to 1764, and renovations over the centuries introduced various design elements. The temple’s upper floors, for example, are now covered in 750 kilograms, or just under one ton, of pure gold, an addition made by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire of India (1799–1849).

Spanning the 19th through the 21st centuries, The Golden Temple: Center of Sikh Faith features historical and contemporary works depicting the renowned site, including images by Italian-English photographer Felice Beato, one of the first photographers to capture images of Asia. The exhibition also features watercolors, prints, and paintings by Indian and American artists who have visited the temple, culminating with works by both Sikh and non-Sikh contemporary artists whose visual narratives draw inspiration from the Golden Temple’s intricate design.

Of particular note are two contemporary works: a print by The Singh Twins, British artists who fuse traditional Indian and contemporary Western influences in works they label “past modern,” and a pigmented work on paper by Rupy C. Tut, a Punjabi Sikh artist based in Northern California who blends calligraphy and Indian miniature painting. The Singh Twins’ work depicts the story of Bibi Rajani and her husband, who had leprosy, today known as Hansen’s disease. The tale dates back to the time of the founding of the town of Amritsar, where the Golden Temple is located. In the work, viewers see Bibi Rajani and her husband next to the Dukh Bhajani Beri, a jujube tree that survives today. Also featured in the composition is a crow transforming into a swan, symbolizing the traditional Sikh belief in the healing power of both the sacred tree and the water surrounding the Golden Temple.

Tut’s 2020 work entitled Darshan, on the other hand, visualizes the phenomena of the same name. Darshan are blessed visions, revelations, or acts of perceiving the Guru, whose depiction is influenced by historical, contemporary, and personal narratives about individual experiences at the Golden Temple. These visions are experienced by devotees of various ages, genders, statuses, and levels of faith. Because they occur across a range of believers, darshan effectively erase or blur superficial or worldly differences, uniting those of disparate backgrounds through a shared experience of the divine.

“The Golden Temple has been a favorite subject of both historical and contemporary artists for more than 400 years because of its harmonious blending of Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim architectural traditions,” said Janet Baker, PhD, the Museum’s curator of Asian art. “Through the varied views represented in The Golden Temple: Center of Sikh Faith, visitors will enjoy a rich portrait of this distinctive monument, marked by a stunning sacred pool, gilded domes, marble balustrades, murals of floral and mythological motifs, and decorative elements made of jewels, mirrors, ivory, and glass. Viewers will also be able to discern how the structure has continued to transform over time, its splendor indelible.”

The Golden Temple: Center of Sikh Faith is presented in the Khanuja Family Sikh Heritage Gallery, one of only two galleries in the United States dedicated exclusively to the exhibition of Sikh art. The exhibition continues the Museum’s initiative to showcase artwork and objects that bring the world to Phoenix, introducing the community to works of art from diverse cultures.

About the Exhibition

The Golden Temple: Center of Sikh Faith is on view November 27, 2021 through April 24, 2022 in the Khanuja Family Sikh Heritage Gallery. The exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of the Sikh Heritage Fund, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

Admission is free for Museum Members, U.S. veterans and active-duty military and their families, and youth 5 and younger. Entrance to the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 7 pm and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 7 pm. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

To request interviews and high-resolution photography, 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 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 (October 27, 2021) –This fall,Arizona audiences will have the unparalleled opportunity to experience a selection of rare and outstanding Sri Lankan artworks—many of which have never been publicly exhibited—in Legacy of Ceylon: Art and Photography of Sri Lanka at Phoenix Art Museum. The latest exhibition in the Museum’s Art of Asia galleries will feature more than 50 artworks that date from as early as the sixth century and span 1,000 years, illuminating the influence of Buddhist and European traditions on the nation’s art history. Featured objects including technically refined and solid bronze sculptures, paintings, and original black-and-white photographs that were only recently discovered. Legacy of Ceylon: Art and Photography of Sri Lanka will be on view from November 27, 2021 through April 24, 2022.

“We are excited to present Legacy of Ceylon: Art and Photography of Sri Lanka to our audiences in Arizona,” said Mark Koenig, the Interim Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to experience some of the rarest examples of Sri Lankan art in the United States, while also discovering an intimate view into life on the island nation during the mid-1900s.  This collection of outstanding documentary photographs will enjoy their world premiere in the Museum’s Art of Asia galleries.”

The island nation of Sri Lanka, formerly known has Ceylon, has a deep history spanning more than 3,000 years, with a culture influenced by nearly every major human civilization and dominant world power, including the Persian Empire, Ancient Greece, Rome, and the European world. Buddhism, which originated in northwestern India, found a home on the island approximately 2,000 years ago and has since maintained a strong influence on the nation’s culture. Beginning in the late 16th century, the island entered a long period of colonial rule, beginning with the Portuguese in 1597. Then in 1640, the Dutch colonized the island, followed by the British in 1815. The British largely supported the Buddhist theocracy maintained under the Kings of Kandy, the last indigenous monarchy to rule the central and eastern portion of Ceylon from the end of the 16th century into the 19th century, when the British officially took power. Ceylon finally achieved independence in 1948, followed by a period of insurrections and civil war. In 1972, a constitutional republic was established, which led to the naming of a new nation, Sri Lanka.

Through more than 50 artworks created over 1,000 years, Legacy of Ceylon: Art and Photography of Sri Lanka provides insight into this expansive history, allowing Arizona audiences to see for themselves how works from the island nation have been influenced by Buddhist and European cultures. The majority of featured works, dating from the 16th through the 19th centuries, are drawn from the Museum’s dynamic collection of Sri Lankan art, amassed through the generosity of several donors including, most notably, Arizona collectors Drs. Coleene and Barry Fernando, the latter of whom was born in Sri Lanka and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1957. Exhibition highlights include paintings, palanquins, and other rare and outstanding objects, as well as technically refined and large solid-bronze sculptures—some of which weigh as much as 50 lbs.

“Sri Lanka has a diverse history and a very multifaceted cultural influence,” said Janet Baker, PhD, the Museum’s curator of Asian art. “Through works in Legacy of Ceylon: Art and Photography of Sri Lanka, which features works from both the Museum’s collection and the Fernando family’s private collection, it is possible to trace, for example, how Buddhist bronze-casting techniques and aesthetics evolved over 1,000 years. When Buddhism first came to Sri Lanka in the third century, artisans and artists made small, technically refined sculptures. Over time, that technique evolved and reached its apex in the 17th and 18th centuries. Visitors will be able to see that evolution through works spanning a millennia.”

Legacy of Ceylon: Art and Photography of Sri Lanka also premieres original black-and-white photographs by Quintus Fernando, PhD, who passed away in 2004. These photographs, which were only recently discovered, were taken just prior to the Fernando family’s emigration from Sri Lanka. These works will be exhibited to the public for the first time and depict simple, everyday slices of mid-20th century life, as well as Buddhist ruins and other iconic locations. With these photographs displayed alongside works of historical significance, the exhibition offers deep insight into pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial life on the island nation.

About the Exhibition

Legacy of Ceylon: Art and Photography of Sri Lanka will be on view from November 27, 2021 through April 24, 2022 in the Art of Asia galleries. The exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/exhibition/legacy-of-ceylon/.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 7 pm and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 7 pm. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, 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.

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PHOENIX (November 9, 2018) Phoenix Art Museum will present Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam Through Time & Place, the first Islamic art exhibition at the Museum in more than two decades, from January 26 to May 26, 2019 in the Art of Asia galleries. The comprehensive exhibition, organized by the Newark Museum, will feature more than 100 artworks, including hand-written texts, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, photographs, and paintings, from across centuries and from nearly every continent, with the exception of Antarctica. Unlike previous national and international exhibitions on Islamic art, Wondrous Worlds is organized around the Five Pillars of Islam instead of geography, time period, or material, offering a fresh perspective on a vast artistic genre.

“We are delighted to host Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam Through Time & Place,” said Amada Cruz, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “This exhibition offers a unique and comprehensive view of Islamic art, and we are excited to share these extraordinary works with our community.”

Curated by a team led by Katherine Anne Paul, PhD, curator of the arts of Asia at Newark Museum, the exhibition is structured around the Five Pillars of Islam, considered the core beliefs and practices of the world’s second largest religion. The Five Pillars are shahada (declaration of faith), salat (five daily prayers), zakat (almsgiving, or charity), sawm (fasting for Ramadan), and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). Each section of the exhibition showcases a range of objects from various countries and centuries, including works created in the service of Islam by Muslim artists for Muslim patrons, items created for purposes that are not explicitly religious, and objects by non-Muslim artists created for both Muslim and non-Muslim patrons. Featured works include books of poetry, woven prayer rugs depicting paradise, inscribed coffee pots, game boards, and musical instruments. These traditional examples of Islamic art are displayed alongside contemporary works, such as calligraphic Sufi poems and sculpture, to demonstrate how artists today continue to explore the intersection between art and Islam.

“Islam connected cultures across the Middle East, the Mediterranean world and as far as China; through travel, trade and faith,” said Janet Baker, Curator of Asian Art. “Its impact on the intellectual and scientific worlds was vast and long-lasting.”

By presenting Islamic artworks that span centuries and continents within the context of the Five Pillars, Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam Through Time & Place provides Museum guests with the opportunity to experience the living legacy of Islamic art through an in-depth examination of the global reach of Islam and its rich artistic tradition. Over the course of the exhibition, the Museum will present various public programs inspired by the exhibition, such as public lectures featuring local Muslim leaders and family-friendly activities in the galleries, to help build awareness and engage the community in conversation about Islam and Islamic art, now the world’s fastest growing religion.

About the Exhibition

Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam Through Time & Place will be on view from January 26 through May 26 in the Art of Asia galleries. The exhibition is organized by the Newark Museum. Its premiere at Phoenix Art Museum is made possible through the generosity of donors to the Museum’s annual fund. For more details about the exhibition, please visit http://www.phxart.org/exhibition/WondrousWorlds.

This special engagement exhibition is free for Museum Members, and for veterans, active-duty, and retired military and youth aged 5 and under.

General admission:

$23 — Adults

$20 — Senior Citizens (Ages 65+)

$18 — Students (with ID)

$14 — Children (Ages 6-17)

All special exhibitions are included with general admission. During voluntary-donation, free-access times when general admission is free of charge, admission to Teotihuacan is $5. Voluntary donation, free-access 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, please see bit.ly/VisitPhxArt.

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

Exhibition Programs

Circles Opening |Thursday, January 24, 6 pm 

Members of the Circles of Support of Phoenix Art Museum enjoy hors d’oeuvres, live music, and remarks from Janet Baker, PhD, the Museum’s curator of Asian art, followed by an exclusive preview of the exhibition. See more information as it becomes available here.

Members Opening Reception

January 26, 9:30 am to noon

Members are invited to view the exhibition early and to enter through Greenbaum or Palette. Only Palette, Steele Gallery, and the Museum store will be open. See more information as it becomes available here.

First Friday | Friday, February 1, 6 – 10 pm

Join us on First Friday to experience Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam Through Time & Place and in-gallery programs inspired by the exhibition. This event is open to the public with voluntary-donation admission. See phxart.org/events/calendar for event information.

Discount Tire Family Free Sunday

Sunday, February 10, noon – 5 pm

Don’t miss Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam Through Time & Place 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. See phxart.org/events/calendar for updates as information becomes available.

Getting to Know American Muslims and Their Faith   |  Saturday March 2, 2 pm

See phxart.org/events/calendar for event information as it becomes available.

Family Workshop

Saturday March 30, 10:30 am and 2 pm

Youth ages 4 to 7 are welcome to participate from 10:30am to noon and ages 8 to 12 from 2 to 4pm in the Education Studio. See phxart.org/events/calendar for event and ticketing information.

Muslim Contributions to Civilization – Art and Architecture  |  Saturday April 6, 2 pm

See phxart.org/events/calendar for event information as it becomes available.

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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PHOENIX (June 8, 2018) – Beginning on July 7, Phoenix Art Museum presents In the Company of Women: Women Artists from the Collection, an exhibition of nearly 50 twentieth- and 21st-century artworks from the Museum’s holdings. In an era of such contemporary phenomena as the #MeToo movement, this exhibition showcases an array of styles and media, with works on view by Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Faith Ringgold, Erica Deeman, Daniela Rossell, and many others, as an engagement with feminist scholarship that, for decades, has aimed to provide a more complete history of artistic production. In the Company of Women creates a new context for some of the Museum’s most iconic pieces, prompting conversations about gender inequality, the systematic exclusion of women from mainstream art circles, and the idea that artistic production must be understood in the context of society at large. In the Company of Women also aims to encourage conversation about the presence of works by women in the Museum’s collections and exhibitions, as well as the institution’s commitment to proactively addressing these issues. The exhibition will open on Friday, July 6 at
6 pm for First Friday festivities, and will be on view July 7 through August 12 in the Museum’s Steele Gallery.

“We are excited to celebrate the iconic pieces featured in In the Company of Women,” said Amada Cruz, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “This exhibition casts these works in an engaging new light, reminding us that museums are meant to be a place where all perspectives are considered meaningful. We look forward to sharing these beloved works with new and seasoned visitors alike.”

In the Company of Women was inspired in part by the 1976 Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) exhibition Women Artists: 1550-1950, the first large-scale museum exhibition in the United States exclusively featuring women artists. Curated by renowned art historians Ann Sutherland Harris and Linda Nochlin, Women Artists was revolutionary in the way it utilized the museum setting to explore barriers that women artists have historically faced. For example, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, women were barred from studying the nude model, which formed the basis for academic training and representation, despite women’s bodies often serving as the objects of artistic representation and consumption.

Today, work by women artists makes up only 3-5% of major museum collections in the United States and Europe, and of 590 major exhibitions by nearly 70 institutions in the United States from 2007-2013, only 27% were devoted to women artists. In the Company of Women seeks to bring these facts to the forefront while also shedding light on how some of the Museum’s most beloved collection items are by women artists. Among them are Frida Kahlo’s The Suicide of Dorothy Hale, a graphic depiction of death that, in a similar vein to many of Kahlo’s famous self-portraits, demands that its viewer acknowledge a female subject in acute physical and psychological pain; Faith Ringgold’s The Bitter Nest, Part 1: Love in the School Yard, a narrative quilt that exemplifies the artist’s lifelong and fervent commitment to African-American history, civil rights, and the ideas of family and roots through quilt-making and genre painting; and Marguerite Zorach’s Deer in the Forest (1914), a recent acquisition of the Museum by an under-recognized painter who, in her time, was one of the earliest innovators of American modernist painting thanks to her use of intense color and dynamic composition.

“As Phoenix Art Museum’s curatorial department continues to expand and diversify its curatorial exhibition and collecting program, it is important to acknowledge that we are empowered as an institution to oversee and correct the gender imbalance in our programming in a deeply impactful way,” said Gilbert Vicario, the Selig Family Chief Curator.

“Exhibitions like In the Company of Women provide us with the opportunity to talk about reinforced assumptions that pervade everyday life, such as the idea that women are objects of representation rather than active producers of art and history, or the fact that the work of women is often presented in opposition to the ideas of creativity and high culture,” said Rachel Zebro, the Museum’s curatorial associate of modern and contemporary art, and the exhibition’s curator. “Art helps us to challenge these norms and expectations, and in using this series of familiar works from our own collection, we can share these ideas in a tangible way.”

Additionally, In the Company of Women calls attention to a number of the Museum’s recent solo exhibitions by women artists, including Valeska Soares, Betsy Schneider, Iris van Herpen, Sheila Pepe, Magdalena Fernández, Patricia Sannit, and Saskia Jordá. These instances of visibility for works by women artists provoke questions such as: What does the increase in institutional representation of women mean, and how will it be sustained? Why is it important? What is the impact on museums and audiences? In the Company of Women encourages visitors to contemplate this and future exhibitions from new angles, all in an effort to question and transform perspectives on what is considered great art, and why.

About the Exhibition

In the Company of Women will be on view from July 7 through August 12 in Steele Gallery. This exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and is made possible through the generosity of donors to the Museum’s annual fund. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/exhibition/inthecompanyofwomen.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty and retired military personnel, 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 times, the exhibition is offered free to the general public. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, the first Fridays of every month from 6 – 10 pm, and the second weekend of each month (Saturday from 10am – 5pm and Sunday 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 email margaree.bigler@phxart.org.

Related Programs

First Friday

July 6 | 6 – 10 pm

Celebrate the special First-Friday exhibition preview of In the Company of Women on July 6! Experience performances and activities led by Phoenix-based women artists and groups, including:

• Live music by Las Chollas Peligrosas,

• Hands-on activity with Melissa Waddell,

• Subaquatic living installation by Allyson Yoder with live music by Malta,

• Sonic Textile durational performance by Kristen Miologos,

• Nerd Nite PHX,

• Women’s Social Club organized by DiRTYOGA,

• and more!

This is a free event open during the public during Pay-What-You-Wish hours at the Museum. Please check phxart.org/events/calendar for updates.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for more than 50 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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