Gallery Talks

Spreading the Light

Thursday, December 20, 1 to 1:45 pm

Immerse yourself in light and space with Director of Curatorial David Houston and learn about artists who use the power of light to affect your experience of art. Explore the choice of materials used by artists Jim Campbell, James Turrell, Dan Flavin, and Keith Sonnier to spread colors and illumination. Also, take a moment to look at the Museum's architecture and draw parallels between Moshe Safdie's signature style and the lighting and space in our temporary exhibition, See the Light: The Luminist Tradition in American Art.

The talk is located in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery.

Paint Matters

Wednesday, December 5 from 1:00 to 1:45 pm
Friday, December 7, 6:30 to 7:15 pm

Presented by Tyson Scholar Matthew Bailey

Join Tyson Scholar Matthew Bailey to explore selected paintings by artists from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. When looking at paintings, we often search for what they represent in terms of colors, shapes, space, objects, and figures — but what about the materials and physical surfaces of these pictures? What do they reveal about the artistic process? In this tour, you'll delve into the various technical factors and physical processes that went into painting, and uncover problems artists may have encountered in their efforts to achieve specific forms and effects. This unique exploration of painting will transform your own experiences and ways of thinking about art.

This special gallery tour is limited to 20 people and begins in the Late Nineteenth-Century Art Gallery. Free with online registration.

Conversations on Ursula Von Rydingsvard’s Unraveling

Wednesday, December 5 from 1:00 to 1:45 pm

Presented by Public Programs Coordinator Sara Segerlin

View the massive, earthy sensuality of Unraveling, a large-scale sculpture by Ursula Von Rydingsvard, and explore the metaphorical possibilities of this artwork through story and forms. Learn about the artist’s vision in art-making, and her significance as a female large-scale sculptor working in a male-dominated art world.
Free. No registration required.

The talk is located in the Early Twentieth-Century Art Gallery, north corridor.

Views on Nick Cave’s Soundsuit

Saturday, February 16, 3:30 to 4:15 pm

Presented by Director of Curatorial David Houston

Nick Cave’s Soundsuit functions artistically on many levels: as a costume, a sculpture, even as part of a performance. In celebration of Black History Month, join us to learn how African-American artist Nick Cave uses a wide variety of fabrics, found objects, and natural materials to create suits that express his personal and cultural identity, and to address questions of racial identity in America.
Free. No registration required.

The talk is located in the Late Twentieth-Century Art Gallery.

Conversations about Rosie the Riveter

Saturday, March 16, 3:30 to 4:15 pm

Presented by Director of Education Niki Stewart and University of Arkansas Assistant Professor of Politcial Science Angie Maxwell

In honor of Women’s History Month, Director of Education and Exhibitions Niki Stewart and Assistant Professor of Political Science Angie Maxwell will lead a conversation about the changing role of women in the work force during the 1940s, and their challenges in performing tough job tasks during World War II.
Free. No registration required.

The talk is located in the Early Twentieth-Century Art Gallery.

Views on American Chronicles

Thursday, March 28, 1 to 1:45 pm

Presented by Curator of American Art Kevin Murphy

*Admission to the exhibition American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell will be free for this special exhibition talk; please check in at the exhibition’s main doors for admittance.

The scenes of American life painted by Norman Rockwell may present a rosy and picture-perfect ideal; yet dig deeper with Curator of American Art Kevin Murphy to discover darker truths underlying American society between the 1940s and 1970s, and how Rockwell’s iconic illustrations may have more than one interpretation.
Free. No registration required.

The talk is located in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery.

Conversations on Abstractions on Paper

Saturday, April 20, 3:30 to 4:15 pm

Presented by Assistant Curator Manuela Well-Off-Man and Northwest Arkansas Community College Art Professor Steve Wise

Two artists — Sol Lewitt and Donald Judd — used printmaking as a way to explore large-scale sculpture ideas. Assistant Curator Manuela Well-Off-Man and NWACC Professor of Art Steve Wise will shed light on their artistic process, and comment on the artists’ Minimalist style as a way of rejecting the art world’s obsession at that time with Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism.
Free. No registration required.

The talk is located in the Late Twentieth-Century Art Gallery, north corridor.

Views on the Boldness of Prints

Thursday, April 25, 1 to 1:45 pm

Presented by Thursday, April 25, 1 to 1:45 pm

Explore selections from Crystal Bridges’ new print collection featuring artists from the 1930s and ‘40s who explored a variety of print-making techniques. Learn how artists used prints to illustrate subjects and themes concerning artists and society at large during the tumultuous decades of the Great Depression and World War II.
Free. No registration required.

The talk is located in the Lower Temporary Exhibition Gallery.