Cleveland (January 10,
2022)—Recent acquisitions by the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA)
include an important watercolor by Paul Cézanne; a mixed-media
artwork by Rashid Johnson and three sculptures from Melvin Edwards’s
series, Lynch Fragments, that build upon the CMA’s commitment to
diversifying its collections.
Footpath in the Woods
Watercolor by Paul Cézanne is a new highlight in the CMA’s
internationally recognized collection of works on paper
The acquisition of Footpath in the Woods, a watercolor by
Post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne, builds upon the CMA’s
internationally recognized stature as a repository of important
19th-century French art.
With its innovative depiction of a trail traversing a forest at the
Jas de Bouffan, an estate Cézanne inherited from his father,
Footpath in the Woods exemplifies the artist’s groundbreaking
practice. He used selective strokes of watercolor from a limited
palette to suggest light and shade, and allowed work in graphite in
combination with the paper’s whiteness to construct the image. The
result is a seemingly unfinished work that was in fact carefully
rendered through a process that did not allow for revision.
The subject of Footpath in the Woods is Cézanne’s most
characteristic; he depicted and reinterpreted the chestnut tree
forests of the Jas de Bouffan in various media throughout much of
his life. This experimental approach allowed Cézanne to interrogate
vision itself, as if to suggest that seeing occurs just as much
through absence as it does presence. The composition’s balance of
abstraction and representation, as well as its experimental style,
make Footpath in the Woods an ideal example of the artist’s
watercolors.
Although the CMA has three paintings and several drawings and prints
by the artist, Footpath in the Woods is the first watercolor by
Cézanne to enter the museum’s collection and will be highlighted in
the forthcoming exhibition and publication Nineteenth-Century French
Drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art, on view from January 20
through April 30, 2023.
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Footpath in the Woods, 1882–84. Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906).
Watercolor and graphite on laid paper; image: 47 x 31 cm. The
Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr., Fund 2021.165
Standing Broken Men by Rashid Johnson
Long Term, à Lusaka and Miliki by Melvin Edwards
Works by Rashid Johnson and Melvin Edwards expand the CMA’s
representation of works by African American artists
Standing Broken Men (2021) by Rashid Johnson is an important
addition to the CMA’s contemporary collection and meaningfully
advances the museum’s goal of diversifying its holdings.
At the center of a frenzied mosaic, an abstract, fractured figure
stares wide-eyed at the viewer. Standing Broken Men and a related
series of mosaic works grew out of Johnson’s Anxious Men and Anxious
Audiences series (2015–18). As Standing Broken Men exemplifies,
Johnson’s latest works continue to represent the experience of
anxiety by composing figures through fragmented shards of ceramic
and mirrored tiles. Through this technique, brokenness is inherent
in the figures and the worlds they inhabit. However, their pieces
are reassembled into a dynamic colorful whole, suggesting the
possibility for healing and renewal. As with much of Johnson’s work,
Standing Broken Men can be interpreted as a poignant reflection on
the time when it was made, defined by a global pandemic and a
heightened reckoning with racial inequality. Standing Broken Men
comes to the museum as a generous gift from Agnes Gund in honor of
Helena Huang.
Alongside recent acquisitions by artists such as Robert Colescott,
Simone Leigh, Emma Amos and Wadsworth Jarrell, among others,
Standing Broken Men expands the range of narratives surrounding
African American experiences on view at the CMA. This monumental
work also complements three prints by Johnson from his Anxious Men
series that the museum acquired in 2020 (2020.77, 2020.78 and
2020.79). Together, they capture the innovative evolution of
Johnson’s art across media.
Standing Broken Men will be on view in Toby’s Gallery for
Contemporary Art (229A) beginning in late March 2022.
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Standing Broken Men, 2021. Rashid Johnson (American, b. 1977).
Ceramic tile, mirror tile, branded red oak, bronze, spray enamel,
oil stick, black soap, wax; 240.7 x 186.7 x 7.6 cm. Gift of Agnes
Gund in honor of Helena Huang
Long Term (1980), à Lusaka (1982) and Miliki (1987) by Melvin
Edwards further enhance the CMA’s commitment to diversifying its
collections and presenting a broad range of histories in its
galleries.
Long Term, à Lusaka and Miliki belong to an ongoing series, Lynch
Fragments, that Melvin Edwards began in 1963. The Lynch Fragments
are relatively small-scale, abstract metal wall reliefs that feature
recognizable objects—often objects that could serve as weapons, such
as chains, knives and railroad spikes. Through Edwards’s composition
and welding technique, familiar elements lose their functional
associations and yield innovative sculptural shapes. These forms
reveal Edwards’s influences, which range from Western modernist
sculpture and jazz to traditions of African metalsmithing.
The series title, Lynch Fragments, the artist has explained, is
reflective of his intention to encourage consideration of the
violence and destruction wrought by racism in and beyond American
society. The title is not, he has said, to be taken literally; from
the outset he determined that the series would never depict
narrative scenes or recognizable figurative imagery. Even without
literal scenes of violence, the works invite a direct confrontation
with the viewer; they are displayed at eye level and protrude off
the wall into the viewer’s space.
Through the Lynch Fragments series, Edwards combines his commitment
to abstraction with his investment in the social and racial
histories unfolding outside his studio walls. In this sense, his
work shares attributes with peers that include David Hammons, Jack
Whitten and Martin Puryear, whose works are represented in the CMA’s
collection and offer rich context for this acquisition.
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Left to right
Long Term, from the Lynch Fragments series, 1980. Melvin Edwards
(American, b. 1937). Steel; 30.8 x 19.1 x 20.6 cm.
à Lusaka, from the Lynch Fragments series, 1982. Melvin Edwards
(American, b. 1937). Steel; 34.3 x 19.4 x 14 cm.
Miliki, from the Lynch Fragments series, 1987. Melvin Edwards
(American, b. 1937). Steel; 33 x 22.9 x 20.3 cm.
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About the Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth
of its collection, which includes more than 63,000 artworks and
spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a
significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship and
performing arts. One of the top comprehensive art museums in the
nation and free of charge to all, the Cleveland Museum of Art is in
the dynamic University Circle neighborhood.
The Cleveland Museum of Art receives funding from a broad range of
individuals, foundations and businesses in Cleveland and northeast
Ohio. The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga
County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made
possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives
support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the
Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts
experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally
and economically. For more information about the museum and its
holdings, programs and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.
For more information, please contact:
Kelley Notaro Schreiber, 216-707-6898, knotaro@clevelandart.org
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