The Torah pointers assembled here are made of gold, silver, pearls, and jewels as well as badger hair bristles, a whale’s tooth, porcupine quills, fish vertebrae, recycled cans, brass bullet casings, and even a skateboard. This collection allows us to explore and consider expanded possibilities for what a religious ritual object can be.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of artist Joan Mitchell’s birth, museums around the country are installing her works simultaneously to celebrate her talent and broad influence.  Mitchell, who lived from 1925 until 1992, was a remarkable artist both for her prolific output as well as her success as a woman within the male-dominated art world of the time. Today, we recognize Mitchell’s legacy as a leading painter of the Abstract Expressionist movement. 

The iconic works showcased within O’ Powa O’ Meng (“I came here, I got here, I’m still going” in the artist’s Tewa language) span the breadth of Folwell’s groundbreaking career and demonstrate the arc of her artistic development. The exhibition centers Folwell’s practice and situates her within the intersecting artistic contexts of Kha’p’o Owingeh, Native American art, and Contemporary and American art more broadly. 

This exhibition draws together artworks and objects from various cultures, geographies, and histories to explore different meanings and experiences of belonging. These works relate to all aspects of life—from childhood memories and everyday life, to death, burial, and the afterlife. 

Celebration is a reflection of collective efforts and a chorus of voices, and perhaps more importantly, it is an invitation.

This dynamic selection of 20th- and 21st-century artworks from the Museum’s permanent collection explores the ways that art can speak to or question the formal, physical, environmental, social, and institutional structures of our world. Here you will encounter the work of Melvin Edwards, whose Lynch Fragments series inspires thoughtful reflection on America’s complex and violent history. DJ and visual artist, Rozeal, addresses cultural disparity and the complexities of appropriation and globalization in our current times.

Drawn from the permanent collection of The Fralin Museum of Art, the works of art on view in the Joanne B. Robinson Object Study Gallery highlight the role of the collections in teaching.

Carving wooden sitting benches is a longstanding artistic practice among the Indigenous peoples in Brazil. These wooden benches are utilized for ceremonial purposes and everyday use in their communities.