May 27-August 3, 2008
Contemporary Art Society: Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition
CAS is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2008, and to mark the occasion, CAS has culled the collections of its members to organize an elaborate exhibition at the University of New Mexico Art Museum. The organizing theme for this exhibit is that CAS has visited the studios of ALL of the artists included in this exhibit at some time or another in its 20 year history. The exhibition contains over 60 works from over 50 nationally recognized and noted regional artists, including Bruce Nauman, Kiki Smith, Florence Pierce, Frederick Hammersely, Gloria Graham and Wes Mills, just to name a few.
CAS is a non-profit arts organization made up of collectors, artists and others who share a passion for contemporary art. The group arranges local and regional studio visits, museum tours, lectures, visiting artists, and also organizes trips across the country to view museum exhibits, installations, and architectural tours. *Exhibition support provided by the Contemporary Art Society of New Mexico
Larry Bell, Small Mirage Study #5. Vapor drawing on canvas. Lent by Pamela Don Michaelis
Exhibition Events:
Opening Reception: Friday, June 6, 5-7pm
Panel Discussion: Tuesday, July 22, 5:30pm
June 17 – August, 2008
Big Stuff: Works from the Permanent Collection
Size does matter and impacts greatly on how we experience and interact with a work of art. This exhibition presents an opportunity to see a number of large works from the UNM Art Museum’s permanent collections that are not often on view in part because of their size. But size is also relative and in this exhibition of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and photographs—some contrasted with very small works—we can observe for ourselves just how size and scale function in different media and in relation to other works of art.
Jim Dine, Tools. Lithograph. Purchased with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and with matching funds from Friends of Art, UNM Art Museum.
June 17 – August 17, 2008
Ukiyo-e: Worlds in Passing
Prior to the 17th century, the term ukiyo meant "Sorrowful World" (憂き世), referring to the earthly plane between birth and death. Buddhists especially considered it one’s solemn duty to seek release from ukiyo. However, from the late 17th century the meaning of the term shifted dramatically. Now written 浮世 to mean, ironically, “floating world,” ukiyo signified an embrace, even celebration, of the rich variety of earthly existence.
Used by the capitalist cultures that bloomed in the urban centers of Edo (Tokyo), Osaka, and Kyoto, the new ideal spawned the production of ukiyo-e (浮世絵), "pictures of the floating world." These pictures were mainly woodblock prints, the ideal medium because they could be rapidly produced, widely distributed; and, being cheap, were readily marketable. Vibrant in color, animated in line, these prints were irresistible additions to many Japanese households, as well as to artist’s studios in Europe and America after 1860.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Moon of the Filial Son (#80 in One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, 1885-1892), 1889. Woodblock print. Gift of Arthur H. Johnson, Jonson Gallery Collection, UNM Art Museum.
CAS is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2008, and to mark the occasion, CAS has culled the collections of its members to organize an elaborate exhibition at the University of New Mexico Art Museum. The organizing theme for this exhibit is that CAS has visited the studios of ALL of the artists included in this exhibit at some time or another in its 20 year history. The exhibition contains over 60 works from over 50 nationally recognized and noted regional artists, including Bruce Nauman, Kiki Smith, Florence Pierce, Frederick Hammersely, Gloria Graham and Wes Mills, just to name a few. 
Size does matter and impacts greatly on how we experience and interact with a work of art. This exhibition presents an opportunity to see a number of large works from the UNM Art Museum’s permanent collections that are not often on view in part because of their size. But size is also relative and in this exhibition of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and photographs—some contrasted with very small works—we can observe for ourselves just how size and scale function in different media and in relation to other works of art.
Prior to the 17th century, the term ukiyo meant "Sorrowful World" (憂き世), referring to the earthly plane between birth and death. Buddhists especially considered it one’s solemn duty to seek release from ukiyo. However, from the late 17th century the meaning of the term shifted dramatically. Now written 浮世 to mean, ironically, “floating world,” ukiyo signified an embrace, even celebration, of the rich variety of earthly existence.