Riffe Gallery Shares Rarely Seen Objects from the Columbus Museum of Art
by Lacey Luce
The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery presents an exhibition of seldom-shown treasures with Far, Near Here: Selections from the Collection of the Columbus Museum of Art, on view January 25 through April 15, 2007.
Curated by Michael Jones and Karen Shirley from Shirley / Jones Gallery in Yellow Springs, Far, Near, Here comprises 64 works of art that have not been exhibited in the museum in more than five years. This exhibition showcases pieces in a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, prints, photographs, glass, ceramics, fiber, and small-scale sculpture in bronze and stone.
While the objects included hail from diverse locations and cultures—Prehistoric America, China, Japan, Korea, India, Fiji, New Guinea and France—the bulk are American works from the modern and contemporary eras. The exhibition seeks, among other things, to show how contemporary art shares affinities with and is often informed by artifacts from foreign cultures.
“We found the process of examining items piece by piece fascinating and stimulating. We decided early on to let the exhibition comprise things that caught our eye and piqued our own curiosity,” said Jones.
“We further decided to choose artifacts from non-Western cultures and to place them along side contemporary art to suggest ways in which artists today may be mining diverse sources and, as a result, even revising their own artistic philosophies,” said Shirley.
The exhibition opens January 25 with a curator-guided tour from 5 – 6 p.m. and a reception from 6 – 8 p.m. The curators will do a second public tour of the exhibition January 26 from noon – 1 p.m.
On February 17, 10 a.m. – noon, the gallery will team up with Columbus Museum of Art education staff to host a free family workshop at the Riffe Center. Children ages 6 to 16 are invited to come learn how to make and decorate a keepsake box to hold treasured collections (supplies provided). Families interested in participating in this event should e-mail riffegallery@oac.state.oh.us for registration information.
The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery is located on the first floor of the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, 77 S. High St., downtown Columbus.
Gallery hours are Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday noon – 8 p.m., and Sunday noon – 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Monday and state holidays. Admission is free.
Visit www.riffegallery.org or call 614/644-9624 for more information about additional exhibition events.
Image seen here is Japanese, Traveling shrine containing a Buddha statue, not dated, lacquer, 6 ½” Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, bequest of John F. Oglevee. High resolution images, for use by media, are available upon request. Contact Lacey Luce at lacey.luce@oac.state.oh.us or 614/387-5670.
The Riffe Gallery is supported by the Ohio Building Authority. Media sponsors include Alive, CityScene, Ohio Magazine and Time Warner.
The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery showcases the work of Ohio’s artists and curators, exhibitions produced by the Ohio Arts Council’s International Program and the collections of the region’s museums and galleries. The Riffe Gallery’s Education Program seeks to increase public appreciation and understanding of those exhibitions
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
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