Athens, Ga. – The Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will host the museum’s quarterly open house, 90 Carlton: Autumn, Oct. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. There will be live Dixieland music, refreshments by Classic City Chef, and tours and gallery talks with curators throughout the evening. The event is free for members and $5 for non-members.
The event features an exclusive preview of the exhibitions “Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art” and “L’objet en mouvement: Early Abstract Film,” which open to the general public the follow day. Other exhibitions on view include “Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great (1762-1796)” and “The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South.”
“Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art” is the first major exhibition devoted to the art and activities of Cercle et Carré (Circle and Square), the artistic group cofounded in 1929 by Pierre Daura (1896-1976), Joaquín Torres-García (1874-1949) and Michel Seuphor (1901-1999). Organized primarily around the works displayed in the group’s 1930 exhibition in Paris or featured in one of the three issues of the 1930 Cercle et Carré periodical, the exhibition presents an assembly of abstract works of art not seen as a group and seldom discussed in relation to one another for more than 80 years. The exhibition complements the primary-source materials in the archives of the museum’s Pierre Daura Center and contributes to the understanding of international abstract art in the period between the wars.
“L’objet en mouvement: Early Abstract Film,” presented in conjunction with “Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art,” comprises a selection of abstract films from the 1920s discussed by essayists in the third issue of Cercle et Carré’s journal. Members of Cercle et Carré identified these early films as initial steps toward achieving an entirely abstract cinema-a nonrepresentational mode of expression based purely on movement. Films include Fernand Léger’s “Le Ballet mécanique” (1924) and Man Ray’s “Emak-Bakia” (1926).
“Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great (1762-1796)” features works of art and books, most of which the empress of Russia commissioned for her own use or for the courtiers who received them as gifts. The exhibition presents a comparison of objects that exemplify both medieval Byzantine culture, of which Russia was the successor and guardian, and the Western neoclassical style that was the hallmark of the Enlightenment.
“The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South,” organized by the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the Arkansas Arts Center, features works by Carroll Cloar, whose complex style not only pays homage to the great American realist masters and the pointillism of the Post-Impressionists, but also blends these elements smoothly with the subtly disturbing images and themes of the Surrealists. His paintings, with their saturated colors, repeating patterns and shallow picture planes, show the American South.
For more information about becoming a member, call 706-542-4662 or ask at the door.
Museum Information
Partial support for the exhibition and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation and the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Art Complex on the East Campus of the University of Georgia. The address is 90 Carlton St., University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. 30602-6719. For more information, including hours, see http://georgiamuseum.org or call 706-542-4662.
