"Black," "Glass Heart," "Geometries," and "Prepared Box for John Cage" Close between May 30 and June 9

Several noteworthy exhibitions in the Davis Museum will be on view through Commencement (May 31) and Reunion (June 7-9).  Senior art majors' exhibition is in Jewett Art Gallery through May 31.

The Davis is one of the oldest and most acclaimed academic fine arts museums in the United States, and is a vital force in the intellectual, pedagogical, and social life of Wellesley College.

Davis Exhibitions

Louise Nevelson, "Black" (pictured) through June 9

This exhibition, installed in the Davis's "black-box" gallery, offers a rare opportunity to consider the work of Louise Nevelson (1900-1988) in the lighting she preferred. For Nevelson, whose monochrome strategies in assemblage became legendary, black "symbolized harmony and continuity." As her long-time gallerist Arne Glimcher notes, "For her first shows of environments in the '50s—she painted the entire place black and she had almost no light in there. So your perception had to become hyper-active because of the light deprivation."

Jenny Olivia Johnson, "Glass Heart (Bells for Sylvia Plath)" through June 9

Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Theory Jenny Olivia Johnson debuts a Davis Museum commission. Inspired both by Sol LeWitt's 1991 series of etchings, "All Combinations of Red, Yellow, and Blue, with Scribbles," and the poetry of Sylvia Plath, Johnson has created an interactive musical instrument that will share the gallery space with LeWitt's prints. The instrument consists of seven glass bell jars fitted with microphones and lights. A touch triggers a sound sample of a new composition written by Johnson and featuring Plath's poetry, and causes the lights of the glass hearts to dance to the sound.

Allan Kaprow, et al., "Prepared Box for John Cage" through June 9

In 1987, artist Allan Kaprow invited contributions to the catalogue for an exhibition
honoring the 75th birthday of composer, artist, and innovator John Cage. Forty-five artists, composers, curators, and writers responded with poems, drawings, essays, photographs, games, and scores that explore the influence of Cage's teaching, writings, and music on 20th-century visual art, music, poetry, dance, and film.

Josef Albers, "Geometries" through June 30

Albers—teacher, writer, painter, and color theorist—was an influential member of the Bauhaus before immigrating with his artist wife, Anni, to the United States in 1933. This small selection of works by Josef Albers (1888-1976) from the Davis collections invites close consideration of the geometric line in relation to color—or its absence—through prints and drawings, spanning 1944 to 1976.

The Davis, "Festina lente" through July 7

Festina lente offers an unconventional behind-the-scenes opportunity to survey the Greek and Roman holdings in the Davis Museum's permanent collections. Focused on collecting, conservation, and stewardship, the exhibition invites new research and scholarship regarding a range of objects—some deeply beloved long-time fixtures in the Davis galleries, and others hidden from view for decades.

For more details, see our Events page.