Racine, WI     February 11, 2013  

The Racine Art Museum in Black and White

  

In the winter months of 2013, RAM will feature a series of exhibitions that showcase work dominated by a black and white color scheme. Artists whose works are featured in these exhibitions limit the use of numerous colors, yet create dynamic and thought provoking compositions. Open February 17 through May 12, 2013, Shades of Gray: Black and White Graphics from RAM's Collection features prints and artist's books dating from the early twentieth century to the present day. The show includes selections from Wisconsin and New York-based artists working with the federal government's WPA (Works Progress Administration) arts-based programs during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

David HockneyReclining Figure, 1975

Etching and aquatint, Printer's proof

Racine Art Museum, Gift of Karen Johnson Boyd
Photography: Jon Bolton, Racine, WI

Shades of Gray presents landscapes, figural studies, abstractions, and stories told through both image and text. The works in this exhibition rely primarily on a palette of black and white. Narrowing the theme to these "colors," while allowing for a variety of subject matter from artists, past and present, offers the opportunity to look at both composition and content from a fresh perspective. Viewers are invited to explore formal elements as well as the symbolic and metaphoric potential of color.

 

RAM has the largest craft collection in the United States, yet it also has a significant number of works on paper and artist's books. These holdings are historically important as prints and drawings from the WPA were some of the first gifts to the collection in the 1940s. Additionally, collecting and presenting work from artists who create meaningful statements in a number of media underscores RAM's intention to dispel differentiation between fine arts and craft. The collection has grown in all areas with works on paper comprising approximately half of the museum's 8,000 pieces.

 

RAM at 10 | Growing America's Craft Collection

This year marks the Racine Art Museum's 10th Anniversary in Downtown Racine. Visitors are invited to discover stunning exhibitions that shine a light on RAM's achievements over the past decade and predict an even brighter future.

This exhibition is made possible by: Presenting Sponsors - Karen Johnson Boyd and William B. Boyd, The Estate of Emile H. Mathis II, in Memory of his Parents: Emil H. and Anna T. Mathis, RAM Society Members, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Windgate Charitable Foundation; Gold Sponsors - Racine United Arts Fund; Silver Sponsors - Elwood Corporation, Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, Racine Community Foundation, W.T. Walker Group, Inc., Wisconsin Arts Board; Bronze Sponsors - The A. C. Buhler Family, CNH America LLC, E.C. Styberg Foundation, Inc., Educators Credit Union, In Sink Erator, The Marjorie L. Christiansen Foundation, The Norbell Foundation, Real Racine, Robert W. Baird & Co., Runzheimer Foundation, Ruud Family Foundation, and Wisconsin Public Radio.
##

Together, the two campuses of the Racine Art Museum, RAM in downtown Racine at 441 Main Street and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts at 2519 Northwestern Avenue, seek to elevate the stature of contemporary crafts to that of fine art by exhibiting significant works in craft media with painting, sculpture and photography, while providing outstanding educational art programming.

Docent led contemporary craft and architectural tours of the museums are available. Both campuses of the Racine Art Museum, are open to the public Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, and are closed Mondays, Federal holidays and Easter. RAM is open Sunday Noon - 5:00 pm, while Wustum is closed Sundays. An admission fee of $5 for adults, with reduced fees for students and seniors, applies at RAM. Admission to Wustum is free. Members are always admitted without charge to either campus.

Quick Links


For more information or to request images, please contact:

Laura Gillespie
RAM Marketing Assistant
262.638.8300 x 114