Generations: 150 Years of Sculpture presents a new selection from the Nasher’s permanent collection offering conversations between works past and present about possibilities for sculpture across a century and a half. The period it encompasses spans two world wars, astounding technological innovations, dramatic changes to the earth’s environment, and increased movement across geographic borders for people of all kinds. All the while, artists have continued to find new ways to give form to concerns as old as humanity itself.
Conversations among the artworks fall into thematic groupings of sculptures and works on paper by artists of different generations. For example, contemporary artists such as Frances Bagley, Julian Hoeber, and James Sullivan share an enduring fascination for the human figure with historical predecessors like Auguste Rodin, Alberto Giacometti and Willem de Kooning. Artists exploring the role of the void in sculpture include Barbara Hepworth (in the garden) as well as Tony Cragg, Anish Kapoor, Tony Marsh, and Beverly Semmes, while Jonathan Borofsky, Jeff Gibbons, and Jean Tinguely consider sound and mechanical movement as elements of their work. Downstairs, sculptors ranging from Jean (Hans) Arp, Alexander Calder, and David Smith to Nairy Baghramian, Jody Pinto, and Matthew Ronay consider our connections to the natural world.
Generations also celebrates numerous recent acquisitions (identified by the acquisition dates on each label), many of which are on view for the first time. From the beginning, Raymond and Patsy Nasher collected works by artists of different generations, finding common threads between them despite the span of years that might separate their creations. Recent additions to the collection, received from individuals of different generations as well as foundations and other institutions, continue the Nashers’ tradition of generosity and insight.
Generations: 150 Years of Sculpture is supported, in part, by Nasher Members and donors, The City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, TACA, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.