Three Exhibitions to Open at the Lowe Art Museum Next Fall

The Lowe Art Museum unveils three new exhibitions this fall in time for the Art Basel season. The exhibitions feature an engaging installation by New York-based Titus Kaphar; the large-scale iconic paintings of Donald Sultan; and a collection of works by the foremost Cuban female artists from the Rubin collection. Details follow.

Titus Kaphar: The Vesper Project

September 8 - December 23, 2016

The Vesper Project is the culmination of Titus Kaphar's intensive engagement with the fictional history of the Vespers, a 19th-century New England family who were able to "pass" as Caucasian despite the fact that their mixed racial heritage made them black in the eyes of the law. The resulting project, which features the remains of an abandoned Connecticut home into which the artist has incorporated his own work, interrogates notions of race, identity, memory, and social constructs. Through slashing, silhouetting, and whitewashing, Kaphar creates a complex map that compresses time and elides personal histories. The artist's most ambitious installation to date, The Vesper Project obliterates the distance between viewer and work, and is as immersive as it is experiential.

Donald Sultan: The Disaster Paintings

September 29 - December 23, 2016

A critically important series in the oeuvre of American painter, sculptor, and printmaker Donald Sultan, The Disaster Paintings were created between 1984 and 1990. Painted on a monumental scale (the majority of the pieces in this series measure 8' x 8'), these eleven signature works feature imposing, man-made structures whose industrial qualities are reinforced by their media and supports: latex and tar on Masonite tiles. The resulting images evoke a sense of robustness and strength, which is undercut by the catastrophes they depict. Sultan's powerful images of fire, accidents, and other disasters-both natural and man-made-dare viewers to forget that calamities and adversity are woven into the very fabric of our existence and that permanence is just an illusion. Donald Sultan: The Disaster Paintings is organized by the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Songs of Freedom: Female Cuban Artists in the Shelley and Donald Rubin

Private Collection

November 3, 2016 - May 6, 2017

Since the founding of Cuba's National School of Art in 1962 with the objective of educational equality that profoundly affected women in the arts, female Cuban artists are routinely recognized-both nationally and internationally-for their work. The Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection of Cuban Art includes work by many of the island-nation's foremost female artists. Spanning from the 1960s to the present, the works represent a wide range of media and genres. Collectively, they communicate Cuba's cultural heritage, as well as notions of identity, both individual and collective. While Antonia Eiriz and Sandra Ceballos represent the flaws and contradictions inherent in Cuba's political system, Cirenaica Moreira and Aimée García engage with and challenge traditional female stereotypes. Similarly, Belkis Ayón and María Magdalena Campos-Pons address the complexities of race and gender through their explorations of Afro-Cuban religions. Rocío García, on the other hand, explores society's sexual norms, while Sandra Ramos bears witness to key moments in Cuban history. These artists invite us to think critically about feminine identity and accepted power structures by addressing the cultural, psychological, sociological, and anthropological aspects of the female condition.

"These incredible works will bring the South Florida community and Art Basel enthusiasts an enriching experience that reflects a cornerstone of the Lowe's vision: to inspire, dazzle and provoke curiosity among its visitors," comments Jill Deupi, Beaux Arts Director and Chief Curator of the Lowe. "I am excited that these exhibitions, together with our outstanding permanent collection, further establish the Lowe as a showcase for masterworks, a keepr of memories, and a bridge between yesterday and today."