The Georgia Museum of Art will turn its focus to large-scale works in the exhibition XL on view Sept. 13 through Nov. 16 in the Virginia and Alfred Kennedy and Philip Henry Alston Jr. Galleries. New curator of American art Sarah Kate Gillespie has selected works that date from the 1950s to the 21st century, a period marked by a concern with scale.
This trend toward works that gain much of their impact from filling a viewer’s visual field continues, with spaces like the Tate Gallery’s Turbine Hall designed to feature large-scale art and provide an immersive experience.
It also may result from an attempt to reprioritize the in-person encounter with a work of art, as large scale is less comprehensible when reproduced in a book or on a smartphone screen.
The works in XL come from both the museum’s permanent collection and long-term loans. Artists include Sandro Chia, Gregory Gillespie, Terry Winters and Jack Youngerman.
Saul Baizerman’s sculpture “Day,” the companion to “Night,” which is on display at the Getty Center, in Los Angeles, will be on view, as will a work by Beverly Pepper, whose sculpture “Ascension” graces the quad in front of the museum.
The museum’s quarterly reception, 90 Carlton: Autumn, will be Oct. 10 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. and is associated with this exhibition. The event is free for museum members and $5 for others.
