This is Not Black and White

June 24, 2023

June 10, 2024

Jane L. Stern Gallery   

Everything is more complex than it appears. This is Not Black and White is an exhibition featuring works from Plains Art Museum’s permanent collection that underscore spectrums of complexity. The works in the exhibition reflect a diversity of place, ethnicity, culture, gender, and medium but are aesthetically linked by artistic use of strong blacks and whites. Building on this diversity, This is Not Black and White employs equally complex interpretive approaches that are expansive rather than being only limited to the didactic. While we often think of black-and-white concepts as minimal, like a limited binary, moving beyond the surface of artworks often reveal nuanced layers of complexity, philosophies, questions, and truth-seeking. Building on a partnership between Plains Art Museum and Art Bridges, the visitor is welcomes to enter the space and employ their own experiences and relations to the works on the walls. 

Generous support for this project provided by Art Bridges.

While we encourage in-person visits to the museum to experience our exhibitions, we also think about ways to increasingly foster accessibility as well as reaching a geographically broad audience. To check out the exhibition’s public-facing checklist and to discover some additional information about selected featured works, click below.

Checklist
left to right: Chakaia Booker, Untitled, 2022, Lithograph, 24 x 30 in. Permanent Collection • T.L. Solien, The Fall, 1984, Linocut, 46.5 x 32.5 in., Printed and published by Vermillion Editions Limited, Minneapolis, MN, Permanent Collection • Kerry James Marshall, Lost Boys: AKA BB, 1993, Acrylic and collage on canvas mounted on board, Art Bridges
Secret Link