The Oberlin Review
<< Front page News September 17, 2004

Don’t forget about the Allen

The Allen Memorial Art Museum has plenty of events coming up for the Oberlin community. The recent addition of new director Stephanie Wiles promises to help make this next school year very rewarding. With over 11,000 works of art from practically every time period, there is something for everyone to enjoy within the galleries. And with all of the exciting upcoming exhibits and events this year there will be even more to experience inside the museum. Be sure to visit the Allen soon and come see what makes ours one of the finest university or college collections.

This year, the Ellen Johnson Gallery – home to the museum’s contemporary collection - reopened its doors to the public with a slew of newly acquired paintings and sculptures. The collection includes works by such artists as Joseph Cornell, Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg. In addition, the Ellen Johnson Gallery is now home to the video installations of 11 current artists. The videos will be shown continuously over a period of six months ending on Feb. 13.

There will also be a series of upcoming exhibitions that are guaranteed to knock your socks off. The exhibitions include The Splendor of Ruins in French Landscape Painting, 1630-1800, and Surveying the Ruin: the Architectural Landscape on Paper, 1500-2000. These two exhibits, both going up in March, explore the presence and impact of architectural ruins on French painting and on European and American prints, drawing and photographs respectively. For those who like more modern art, an exhibition of drawings by Jim Dine, one of America’s most acclaimed modern artists, goes up in April.

These exhibitions are not the only events happening at the museum; in fact, there are several programs that will be going on year round. For example, the Tuesday Teas this fall semester will be highlighting an array of works from the museum’s collection and on loan. This program is an Allen tradition where professors and curators lead lectures on museum highlights, followed by refreshments. The next few lectures take place on Oct. 12 with Director Stephanie Wiles, Nov. 9 with Professor Jennifer Hirsh, Dec. 14 with Curator of Western Art Stephen Borys and Jan. 11 with Curator of Education Sara Hallberg. All lectures start at 2:30. Don’t miss out on these rare opportunities to hear experts discuss their passions.

As you can see, there is much to do at the Allen Memorial Art Museum. In fact there is even too much to mention in this one article, including talks and lectures, trips, concerts, receptions, art rentals and Kidzhibit. There is also the Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian House, which is open to the public on the first and third Sundays of each month from 12 - 4 pm. Be sure to check this out as well some time this year. Do come in soon and see what the museum has to offer this year, or just stop in to say “Hi.”


 
 

   

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