Calling on the Past installs Duckworth 1975 Untitled Mama Pot, Duckworth 1990 Untitled Cup Blade
The University of Chicago, 5550 S. Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
Ruth Duckworth was an innovative Chicago sculptor who was deeply engaged in the natural world and the scientific advances happening at the University of Chicago in the 1960s and 70s. This exhibition brings together a diverse array of nearly sixty objects—earthy vessels, large-scale clay-tile murals in high relief, bird-like stoneware figures, and nearly translucent porcelain sculptures—and traces the influence of geomorphology and the nascent environmental movement across Duckworth’s work.
September 21, 2023–February 4, 2024
Taking the UChicago Core curriculum course “Poetry and the Human” as a starting point, this exhibition examines the practice of poetry as a form of communication, linguistic innovation, political performance, and embodied presence—considering how poetry can be a lens for understanding humanity. Poetry is Everything is part of a broader series of exhibitions, which are simultaneously designed for teaching at the University and curated to make curricula accessible to broader publics. This group show features works by Cosmo Campoli, Bethany Collins, Jeff Donaldson, Sky Hopinka, Jackson Mac Low, Carlos Mérida, and Mary Ellen Solt, among others.
September 21, 2023–February 4, 2024
This exhibition invites visitors to experience the Smart Museum of Art’s collection anew, through a sensory exploration of color, texture, and form. From antiquities to contemporary painting and sculpture, the cross-historical selection of objects speaks to the varied materials, ideas, and questions artists continue to explore, while emphasizing the editing of history. The installation features beloved works by Miyoko Ito, Kerry James Marshall, Mark Rothko, and Yeesookyung, alongside new acquisitions on display for the first time by Rasheed Araeen, Amir H. Fallah, Ivy Haldeman, Whitfield Lovell, Lauren Quin, and Kishio Suga.
March 21, 2023–February 4, 2024
Friday & Saturday: 10am-4:30pm
Sunday: 1-4:30pm
