Global Conversations: Contemporary World Art in Dialogue features works that have never been on view

TOLEDO, Ohio – New and inspiring contemporary works of art from around the world will be on view at the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) during the exhibition, Global Conversations: Contemporary World Art in Dialogue, which runs from March 9, 2019 through March 8, 2020 in the Levis Gallery. Approximately 50 objects encompassing a wide array of media – sculpture, painting, studio glass, works on paper and mixed media – will be included in the year-long installation.

“Through innovative uses of media and scale, these artists contend with some of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Halona Norton-Westbrook, director of curatorial affairs at TMA. “In harmony with these areas of exploration, the display will highlight the stories of the people, places and materials that are intimately interwoven into the narratives of these compelling contemporary global works of art.”

Global Conversations will offer visitors the chance to explore the many powerful ways artists are considering the state of the world in the 21st century as they engage with today’s issues of urgency. Identity, migration and the digital revolution are among the rich topics brought forth for exploration.

The majority of the works of art featured in the exhibition have been added to the Museum’s collection over the last decade. Considered together, they represent a broad perspective on the concerns of artists working today in diverse regions around the world.

Among the artists to be featured is Titus Kaphar (born in 1976 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.), who interrogates accepted histories and who last year received a coveted MacArthur “Genius” fellowship. Kaphar’s Watching Tides Rise (2012) is a tour-de-force canvas of a colonial-era schooner overcome by a rising sea of tar and literally pulled off its supporting frame.

“In recent years, the Museum has been working to grow and broaden its holdings of global contemporary art,” Norton-Westbrook said. “These outstanding works of contemporary art allow the Museum to bring its audiences up to date with ongoing cultural conversations worldwide.”

This extended exhibition provides the opportunity to debut some of these significant new additions and to interpret their meaning through the framework of TMA’s inclusive visual literacy approach known as “close looking.” In addition to the works from TMA’s permanent collection, the exhibition will also feature a number of key loans.

This exhibition is sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council with additional support from 2019 Exhibition Program Sponsor ProMedica.

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