Reflections on Light: Works from the NCMA Collection (Exhibition)
Claude Monet, The Cliff, Étretat, Sunset, 1882–1883, oil on canvas, 23 13/16 x 32 3/16 in., Purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina
Reflections on Light: Works from the NCMA Collection
September 9, 2020 – February 14, 2021
East Building, Level B, Video Gallery, Photography Gallery 1 (Julian T. Baker Jr. Gallery) and 2 (Allen G. Thomas Jr. Gallery)
Featuring objects from 16 countries and spanning more than 2,500 years of art history, Reflections on Light: Works from the NCMA Collection celebrates the diverse collections of the North Carolina Museum of Art. Bringing together artworks from different cultures, continents, and histories, Reflections on Light showcases how artists from many eras—from ancient Guatemala to 20th-century Ghana—responded to, used, and revered light.
Reflections on Light was organized in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the NCMA’s West Building, designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners, to allow for an unprecedented experience of art in natural light. This exhibition explores the diverse ways in which natural and artificial light have impacted artists over time. It illuminates how artists drew with, painted, expressed, and harnessed light, and how light lets us look back through time as we investigate the history of our NCMA collection.
Organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art. Generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.
