From their enchanting faces and mesmerizing surfaces to the alluring tactile nature, Shinichi Sawada’s sculptures inspire you to start drawing the things that live in your mind and make you ache to pound and twist some clay, which is such a cathartic medium for internal release.

– Jen Sudul Edward, Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary art at The Mint Museum

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Hear from the Curator

Join Jonathan Stuhlman PhD, Senior Curator of American Art at The Mint, as he introduces “Southern/Modern: Rediscovering Southern Art From the First Half of the Twentieth Century”.

Get a deeper understanding of the artists, themes, and cultural significance behind this incredible show. Be sure to check it out before it ends on February 2, 2025. Don’t miss your chance to experience the vibrant history of American Art during the first half of the 20th century.

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Traveling dates and locations

Georgia Museum of Art
Athens, Georgia
June 17–December 10, 2023

Frist Art Museum
Nashville, Tennessee
January 26–April 28, 2024

Dixon Gallery and Gardens
Memphis, Tennessee
July 14– September 29, 2024

The Mint Museum
Charlotte, North Carolina
October 26, 2024–February 2, 2025

  • The vision for Southern/Modern to include works by artists working in the South in the early 20th century, including works by women and artists of color, opens the door for honest conversation about Southern culture during this period of time.

    – Todd Herman, president and CEO at The Mint Museum
  • Bringing together an exceptional group of historians, Southern/Modern enriches the understanding of America and American art during the pivotal first half of the 20th century.

    – Barbara Haskell, curator, The Whitney Museum of American Art
  • Whether ‘rediscovering’ or encountering southern modernisms for the first time, onlookers will find a welcome diversity of visual expressions shaped — even haunted — by place and identity.

    – Sylvia Yount, Lawrence A. Fleischmann Curator in Charge of American Wing, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

    Presenting Sponsors

    Major supporters

    Southern/Modern is generously presented in Charlotte by Wells Fargo and the Dowd Foundation. Major support for the tour and exhibition catalogue are provided by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Betsy and Alfred Brand Fund at The Mint Museum. Individual sponsorship is kindly provided by Julie Boldt and Dhruv Yadav, Lucy and Hooper Hardison, Posey and Mark Mealy, and Rocky and Curtis Trenkelbach. The Mint Museum is supported, in part, by the City of Charlotte and the North Carolina Arts Council.

    Thanks to our media partners

    Exhibition Keepsake

    The accompanying catalogue is the first to survey progressive art created in the American South during the first half of the 20th century. Featuring 12 essays, this lavishly illustrated volume includes all the works from the exhibition and assess a broader body of contextual pieces to offer a fascinating multi pronged look at modernism’s thriving presence in the South– something, until now, largely overlooked in histories of American art.

    Traveling dates and locations

    Dixon Gallery and Gardens Memphis, TennesseeJanuary 29–April 16, 2023

    Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens Jacksonville, FloridaJune 9–September 24, 2023

    San Antonio Museum of Art San Antonio, TexasOctober 14, 2023–January 7, 2024

    Huntsville Museum of Art Huntsville, AlabamaMarch 24–June 16, 2024

    Asheville Art Museum
    Asheville, North Carolina
    October 17, 2024–February 9, 2025

    The Columbus Museum
    Columbus, Georgia
    March 8, 2025–July 6, 2025

    Vero Beach Museum of Art
    Vero Beach, Florida
    January 30, 2026–August 16, 2026

    Taubman Museum of Art
    Roanoke, Virginia
    October 9, 2026–January 24, 2027

    About the DeMell Jacobsen Collection

    The DeMell Jacobsen Collection is one of the finest privately held collections of American art in the United States. Although works from the collection can be found on loan to museums across the country, this exhibition marks the first time works from the collection have been brought together to be viewed together in one exhibition. The mission of the Thomas H. and Diane DeMell Jacobsen PhD Foundation is: “To carefully research and obtain American masterpieces, provide restoration (if necessary), and facilitate long-term loans to accredited museums and traveling exhibitions.”

    Thank You to our Sponsors

    American Made: Paintings and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection is generously presented in Charlotte by PNC Bank.

    Additional generous support is provided by The Dowd Foundation, Windgate Foundation, and U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management.

    The national tour of American Made is made possible by Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, Schoelkopf Gallery, and Sotheby’s.

    Media partners are SouthPark magazine and WDAV 89.9.