Cornelia Parker, Mass (Colder Darker Matter) (Montón [materia más oscura más fría]), 1997. Burnt wood, wire and string. Museum purchase with funds provided by Jan and Howard Hendler.
ArtExhibitionsBreaking Up
Exhibition

Breaking Up

Located in Katz Wing for Modern Art

Breaking Up illuminates the many ways in which contemporary artists explore themes of deconstruction and fragmentation through their evolving practices.

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ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Through a wide selection of paintings, photographs, installations, and digital media works drawn from the collection of Phoenix Art Museum, the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation collection, and various private collections of local artists, Breaking Up examines how contemporary artists explore different types of fragmentation, or “breaking up,” through their work. Works by Nancy Rubins, Deborah Butterfield, Rivane Neuenschwander, Lia Chaia, and Cornelia Parker illuminate the process of deconstructing everyday objects or materials like wood, paper, metal, and incense to create alternative structures and spaces that hold new meaning despite their repurposed media. Other works by Angela Ellsworth, Janet Toro, and Frida Orupabo instead take apart and reconfigure one of the most familiar forms: the human body. Finally, videos, paintings, drawings, and more by Kristin Bauer, Michal Rovner, Ronna Nemitz, Jessica Palomo, Marie Navarre, and Beth Ames Swartz, encourage viewers to consider the many ways in which trauma, loss, and abandonment affect perception, memory, language, and the human mind.

Frida Orupabo, Untitled, 2018. Single-channel HD video. © Frida Orupabo from the artist’s Instagram (@nemiepeba). Collection of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation.

Frida Orupabo, Untitled, 2018. Single-channel HD video. © Frida Orupabo from the artist’s Instagram (@nemiepeba). Collection of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation.

Kristin Bauer, Working Title 04 (detail), 2020. Synthetic polymer pigment on canvas. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Grey Shed Studio.

Kristin Bauer, Working Title 04 (detail), 2020. Synthetic polymer pigment on canvas. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Grey Shed Studio.
(Top) Cornelia Parker, Mass (Colder Darker Matter) (Montón [materia más oscura más fría]), 1997. Burnt wood, wire and string. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds provided by Jan and Howard Hendler.
EXHIBITION SPONSORS

Breaking Up is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

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PRESS INFORMATION

Media Images and Credit Lines

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EXHIBITIONS

On view for a limited time, exhibitions present art from across the centuries and the globe, from iconic fashion to Old Master paintings, contemporary photography to historical objects of Asia.

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ARIZONA ARTIST AWARDS

Since 1986, Phoenix Art Museum has awarded more than $350,000 to over 200 Arizona-based artists through two annual artist awards opportunities.

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