Past Exhibitions

A black and white photo of a wall with a cross beam and window. The beam has snow piled on top and there's snow on the ground at the base of the wall.

STILL Photography Selections from the Permanent Collection

Morris Graves Gallery

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Selected from the JSMA’s collection by Thom Sempere, Associate Curator of Photography, STILL Photography highlights thirteen images representing work that is wide-ranging in style, time, location and subject. Iconic images by Minor White, Imogen Cunningham, Lewis Hine and Raúl Corrales are brought together with contemporary works of Sally Mann, Dan Powell and Richard Tuschman, among others.

Includes:
  • Gallery Guide
A silver serving dish with a flower petal design and an ornate handle. The polished surface reflects light beautifully, highlighting its elegant craftsmanship.

The Graceful Table

John and Ethel MacKinnon Gallery

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The 2019-20 rotation of the Margo Grant Walsh Twentieth Century Silver and Metalwork Collection explores the history of table service, dining etiquette, and international food culture through twentieth-century tableware and dining accessories created by celebrated silversmiths such as Allan Adler and Porter Blanchard, Albert Edward Bonner, Alexander Sturm, and Carl Poul Peterson.

Includes:
  • Gallery Guide
Three women with haggard expressions and wearing headscarves look intently at a crescent moon face in a dark, cloudy sky. The scene has a mystical and eerie atmosphere.

The Satirical Eye

John and Ethel MacKinnon Gallery

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This exhibition introduces viewers to the dynamic history of satire and caricature permeating eighteenth- and nineteenth-century print culture in Western Europe. Selections from the JSMA’s collection explore consecutive eras of printmaking in Great Britain, Spain, and France through the work of William Hogarth, James Gillray, Francisco de Goya, and Honoré Daumier.

Includes:
  • Gallery Guide
A detailed still life of a large clothespin, a red rope, and a metal button against a dark background.

Evocative Shadows Art of the Japanese Mezzotint

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This exhibition celebrates the history of Japanese mezzotint prints. Mezzotint is Italian for “half-tone,” a reference to this intaglio technique’s capacity to produce a broad tonal range of deep blacks through bright whites.

Includes:
  • Collection
A vibrant and chaotic illustration by Ralph Steadman featuring a monstrous figure amidst flowers and abstract elements.

Ralph Steadman A Retrospective

Coeta and Donald Barker Changing Exhibitions Gallery

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Organized by the non-profit Ralph Steadman America, in close cooperation with the artist and his family, this touring exhibition offers a retrospective of the visual legacy of one of the most influential British graphic artists of the last fifty years.

A seated woman painted gray with wavy brown shoulder-length hair. She wears athletic clothes with a green University of Oregon “O” and the number 8 on her shirt. The background is a blue, green, and yellow map of France.

Exploring Identity and Representation France

Education Corridor

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In June during UO Zero week, twelve university students studied abroad in a Global Education Oregon (GEO) program designed and led by Director of Education Lisa AbiaSmith at the site of her own study abroad university thirty years ago in Aix-en-Provence.

A painting featuring a man's face with a full beard on a red background, surrounded by handwritten motivational phrases such as "I STAY DOWN," "REMAIN REAL," "CAN'T FOLD," and "NO BRAKES!!"

Art of the Athlete Art and Social Practice

Education Corridor

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How do artists reflect and respond to social issues and advocate for equality, awareness, and change? Those questions inspired 36 UO students and student athletes from our Art of the Athlete program to create self-portraits this summer as part of a series of workshops.

A vibrant painted box featuring a scene of a person in a pink shirt and headband holding grapes and herbs, set against a backdrop of hills, a river, and a bright sun. The box's sides are adorned with grapevines, cornstalks, and decorative patterns.

Resistance as Power A Curatorial Response to "Under the Feet of Jesus"

Focus Gallery

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The JSMA’s fourth “Common Seeing” exhibition supports the UO’s 2019-20 “Common Reading” of Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes. In the book, the resilient protagonist, 13-year-old Estrella, works in the hot California grape fields while navigating the realities of first love, financial struggle, family separation, and illness.

An abstract artwork featuring a dense cluster of blue geometric shapes in a circular formation, creating a textured surface.

Kwang Young Chun Aggregations

Wan Koo and Young Ja Huh Wing and Jin Joo Gallery of Korean Art

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South Korean artist Kwang Young CHUN combines hundreds of paper-wrapped parcels to create sculptural compositions, called Aggregations, which look like crystal formations, asteroids, or the surface of the moon.

Includes:
  • Gallery Guide
  • Video
Brown shed with a partially obscured Muslim woman dressed in white with a red head covering holding a white book over the head of a white crane with a red face

Naeemeh Naeemaei Dreams Before Extinction and Under the Earth, Over the Moon

Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Gallery

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Dissolving the artificial boundary between human society and wild nature is the goal of this special exhibition, featuring work from two of the artist’s recent series, "Dreams Before Extinction" and "Under the Earth, Over the Moon."

A pop art-inspired piece featuring a stylized figure with traditional Japanese features looking suspiciously at a cooking pot. In the background, the shadow of a woman holding a ball is visible through a grid of bars, with vibrant colors and bold lines.

What’s New Curatorial Conversations

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As a follow-up to 2018’s popular collections exhibition A Decade of Collecting, JSMA’s curators present newly acquired works as well as recent and planned gifts in honor of Jill Hartz.

Photograph of Philip Haas, a light-skinned man wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and white coveralls. In his hand is a white plaster death mask. On his head is a white sculpture with a second mask blowing into a Seussian horn interspersed with paintbrushes with red paint on their bristles.

Philip Haas Sculpture Breathes Life into Painting & Music

Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Gallery

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The JSMA is excited to present the world-premiere of noted artist Philip Haas’s new work, before it embarks on a year-long tour in the U.S. and abroad. The two-week performance installation incorporates motorized sculpture, construction, totems, altered found objects, film, fetishized costume, movement, sound, spoken word, and music.

Watercolor abstract with various swirls of blue, green, and purple paint in a vague natural style

Art Heals Reflections and Connections

Education Corridor

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This special exhibition showcases artwork made in the Alzheimer’s arts access program, hosted by the JSMA in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association Oregon & Southwest Washington Chapter. Reflections and Connections is a free workshop series for individuals living with early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and their care partners.

Young man wearing a white t-shirt and yellow pants, sitting in a classroom filled with empty green chairs and desks.

Common Thread Reflections on Aesthetic Culture

Education Corridor

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Focusing on clothing and other wearable attire, the exhibition serves as a platform for conversations that address diversity, equity, and inclusion. The exhibition is organized by a UO student curatorial team: Taite Stull, Cassidy Shaffer, and Kristen Clayton, who also served as creative project manager.