German Expressionist Prints at Tufts Art Gallery

“Revolt, Recoil, Response: German Expressionist Prints” Exhibit Runs May 11-August 1

Hours:
May 11th – 24th
Tuesday – Sunday 11am to 5pm
Thursday 11am to 8:30pm

May 25th – August 1st
Saturday & Sunday 12pm to 5pm
*Closed July 4th

The Tufts University Art Gallery, in partnership with the Boston Public Library, is pleased to present an exhibition of rare works on paper by artists who became known as the German Expressionists. Working at the turn of the 20th century, their art embodied the turbulent social and political conditions of the time. The exhibition will include over 40 works from preeminent artists such as Max Beckmann, Lovis Corinth, Otto Dix, Ernst Kirchner, and Käthe Kollwitz.

Revolt, Recoil, Response will be on display from May 11 through August 1, 2010 in the Tufts University Art Gallery. Revolt, Recoil, Response highlights the emotionally charged style and subject matter of German Expressionist art before, during and after World War I. Dynamic, avant-garde artists challenged, struggled with, and protested against the violent upheaval of the early 20th century through stark, dramatic and often haunting works of art. This exhibition traces a journey from the early years of German Expressionism through the destruction of World War I to the war’s destabilizing after effects. Revolt explores the artistic motivation as a rebellion against Victorian values and celebration of raw humanity, introducing a radical new artistic style that aimed for maximum emotional effect. Recoil captures the artists’ outrage in the face of social injustice, poverty, hunger and the horrors of war, including disability and death. Response focuses on the artists’ attempts to redefine their identities in a transitioning post-war society through political commentary, biting satire and outright criticism of authority. This exhibition hopes to engage the viewer with a look at events that inspired the creation of German Expressionist art works as the spirit in which they were created resonates today.

Artists Include: Ernst Barlach (1870 – 1938), Max Beckmann (1884 – 1950), Lovis Corinth (1858 – 1925), Otto Dix (1891 – 1969), Erich Heckel (1883 – 1970), Ernst Kirchner (1880 – 1938), Oscar Kokoschka (1886 – 1980), Käthe Kollwitz (1867 – 1945), and Hermann Max Pechstein (1881 – 1955).

Events
Join us at the opening reception on Tuesday, May 11 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. Please see the gallery’s website (artgallery.tufts.edu) for other special events related to the exhibition.

About the Curators
Revolt, Recoil, Response was curated by the Tufts University 2010 Exhibition Planning class with guidance from its instructors, Cara Iacobucci and Kenneth Turino. The Exhibition Planning class is part of the Tufts Museum Studies Program, which trains graduate students for work in the museum field.

About the Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library’s mission is to preserve and provide access to the historical record of our society, and to serve the cultural, educational, and informational needs of the City and the Commonwealth. The Print Department has built its collection by gift and purchase, and today has one of the larger public collections in the United States. For more information, visit bpl.org.

About the Tufts University Art Gallery
The Tufts University Art Gallery animates the intellectual life of the greater university community through exhibitions and programs exploring new, global perspectives on art and on art discourse. The Gallery fosters critical dialogue through exhibitions and programs that explore fresh interpretations and scholarship on art, that provide a forum for art produced internationally by emerging and mid-career artists, and that feature new work of established artists. For more information, visit artgallery.tufts.edu.

Information and images submitted by Tufts University