Crystal Bridges, the Momentary announce 60 artists for State of the Art 2020

Photo by IAN BYERS-GAMBER Elisa Harkins of Tulsa, Okla., is one of 60 artists to be featured in State of the Art 2020, a free exhibition to be offered Feb. 22 through May 24 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary.
Photo by IAN BYERS-GAMBER Elisa Harkins of Tulsa, Okla., is one of 60 artists to be featured in State of the Art 2020, a free exhibition to be offered Feb. 22 through May 24 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary.

BENTONVILLE -- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary announced Tuesday that 60 artists have been selected for State of the Art 2020.

The exhibit will be featured as part of the opening of the Momentary, a contemporary art space scheduled to open Feb. 22 in the market district in the southeast area of downtown.

The exhibit will be on view for free at the Momentary and Crystal Bridges through May 24, according to a news release.

Lauren Haynes, curator of visual arts at the Momentary and curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges, is leading State of the Art 2020, along with Alejo Benedetti, assistant curator of contemporary art with Crystal Bridges, and Allison Glenn, associate curator of contemporary art with Crystal Bridges, according to the release.

The team visited studios across the country and chose a group of 60 artists from varied backgrounds and at different points in their careers, according to the release.

More than 100 artworks will be featured in the exhibit, most of which were created in the last three years.

A number of artists are making site specific works in response to the interior architecture of both spaces and the history of this region, according to the release. Artwork will include paintings, sculpture, photography, video, performance and mixed media.

"State of the Art 2020 fits our vision for the Momentary and builds on some of what we've already done at Crystal Bridges -- presenting contemporary artists who are making work that raise topics and important questions about this moment in time," Haynes said. "As we traveled the U.S. talking with artists, connections between their work and ideas began to emerge, which drove the selection of themes."

The artwork will be organized into thematic sections, including world-building: creating real and fictional spaces; sense of place: investigating ideas of home, family, immigration and more; mapping: connections to and relationships with landscapes and power; and temporality: the concept of time and how we perceive it.

State of the Art 2020 is the continuation of an exploration into contemporary art that began in 2014 when Crystal Bridges presented State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now, according to the release. The exhibit hoped to develop an understanding that contemporary art is approachable and relevant to topics of the day.

"Similar to the first State of the Art, we will bring artists to Northwest Arkansas to engage with the community," Haynes said. "The exhibition will travel and we are currently building the national tour, with dates and venues to be announced at a later time. In addition, we're excited to commit to the next State of the Art in 2025, and plan to create a new exhibition every five years."

Artists

Sama Alshaibi | Tucson, AZ

Eddie Aparicio | Los Angeles, CA

Marcela Pardo Ariza | San Francisco, CA

Mae Aur | Memphis, TN

Frances Bagley | Dallas, TX

Paul Stephen Benjamin | Atlanta, GA

Frank Blazquez | Albuquerque, NM

Kate Budd | Akron, OH

Amy Casey | Cleveland, OH

Domingo Castillo | Miami, FL

Alex Chitty | Chicago, IL

JooYoung Choi | Houston, TX

Alex Bradley Cohen | Chicago, IL

Jill Downen | Kansas City, MO

Carla Edwards | Brooklyn, NY

Jenelle Esparza | San Antonio, TX

Peter Everett | Salt Lake City, UT

Joey Fauerso | San Antonio, TX

Jennifer Harge | Detroit, MI

Elisa Harkins | Tulsa, OK

David R. Harper | Philadelphia, PA

L. Kasimu Harris | New Orleans, LA

Mari Hernandez | San Antonio, TX

Scott Hocking | Detroit, MI

Hong Hong | New Haven, CT

Letitia Huckaby | Benbrook, TX

Cory Imig | Kansas City, MO

Chele Isaac | Madison, WI

Ronald Jackson | Spotsylvania, VA

Lori Kella | Cleveland, OH

Jody Kuehner (Cherdonna) | Seattle, WA

Nicolas Lobo | Miami, FL

Joanna Keane Lopez | Albuquerque, NM

Jova Lynne | Detroit, MI

Suchitra Mattai | Denver, CO

Hannah McBroom | Kansas City, MO

Art Miller | Kansas City, MO

Cristina Molina | New Orleans, LA

Jiha Moon | Atlanta, GA

Tabitha Nikolai | Portland, OR

Kris Pierce | Dallas, TX

Timothy Portlock | St. Louis, MO

Enrico Riley | Lebanon, NH

Kellie Romany | Chicago, IL

Anthony Romero, Josh Rios, and Matthew Joynt, in collaboration | Boston, MA

George Sanchez-Calderon | Miami, FL

Jordan Seaberry | Providence, RI

Karen Seapker | Nashville, TN

Rick Silva | Eugene, OR

Anthony Sonnenberg | Fayetteville, AR

Edra Soto | Chicago, IL

Francisco Souto | Lincoln, NE

Damian Stamer | Hillsborough, NC

Su Su | Pittsburgh, PA

Jena Thomas | Spartanburg, SC

Stacy Lynn Waddell | Durham, NC

Larry Walker | Atlanta, GA

Diego Rodriguez Warner | Denver, CO

Didier William | Philadelphia, PA

Alice Pixley Young | Cincinnati, OH

Source: the Momentary

NW News on 11/12/2019

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