Portals to the Past: British Ceramics 1675 – 1825

On View January 16, 2016 – Ongoing

Mint Museum RANDOLPH

 

Historical objects can reveal much about the people who once owned them and the culture in which they were produced: the popular foods and beverages of the day and how they were served; the prevailing styles of the period; even which public figures were especially admired. These and other aspects of life in eighteenth-century England will be explored in Portals to the Past: British Ceramics 1675–1825 , a new installation and reinterpretation of The Mint Museum’s renowned collection of British pottery and porcelain. It opens January 16, 2016 at Mint Museum Randolph.

Portals to the Past will present more than 225 highlights of this collection, including many objects that have never before been on view, as well as contemporaneous works of art from the Mint’s holdings in British paintings, fashion, silver, and works on paper.

The installation’s opening will follow the December release of a 270-page, illustrated catalogue, British Ceramics 1675–1825: The Mint Museum, produced by the museum in collaboration with D. Giles Limited, London. The catalogue will be available at the December 16.

Both the catalogue and the installation honor the 50th anniversary of the museum’s purchase of the Delhom Collection of British and European ceramics, and the 40th anniversary of the incorporation of the Delhom Service League , the ceramics affiliate of The Mint Museum. The League generously funded the entire cost of the catalogue and provided major support to the installation.

Visit the Exhibition Page .

Brian Gallagher | Curator of Decorative Arts 

 

From New York to Nebo: The Artistic Journey of Eugene Thomason

On view November 21, 2015 – March 27, 2016

Mint Museum UPTOWN

 

 

When The Mint Museum opened its doors in 1936, North Carolina native Eugene Thomason was perhaps the most significant artist working in Charlotte, and one of the region’s strongest advocates for contemporary art. Thomason’s art caught the eye of industrialist James B. Duke, who sponsored his studies at the Art Students League in New York.

For the next four decades, first in Charlotte and later in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Nebo, Thomason worked in the vigorous, rough-hewn style he had adopted in New York to depict subjects ranging from the local landscape to his friends and acquaintances. From New York to Nebo is organized by The Johnson Collection , one of the most comprehensive collections in the South. Noted expert on Southern art Martha Severens selected approximately three dozen paintings spanning Thomason’s career for the show at Mint Museum Uptown , and will visit for a January event.

Visit the Exhibition Page .

Dr. Jonathan Stuhlman | Curator of American, Modern + Contemporary Art

Modern Musings: European Works on Paper

On view November 21, 2015 – March 27, 2016

Mint Museum UPTOWN

 

 

The Mint Museum owns more than 1,000 works on paper created by European artists. Approximately 30 selections from this collection, all created between roughly 1850 and 1950, will be featured in this installation at Mint Museum Uptown . During this period, European art underwent a series of dramatic changes as artists shifted their focus from an emphasis on naturalism and academic techniques to works characterized by a more subjective response to the natural world.

This installation provides a rare opportunity to see fascinating works by such artists as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec , Käthe Kollwitz , Edvard Munch , Giorgio Morandi , and Edouard Vuillard .

Visit the Exhibition Page .

Dr. Jonathan Stuhlman | Curator of American, Modern + Contemporary Art

 

Contemporary British Ceramics: The Grainer Collection

On view November 21 – Ongoing

Mint Museum RANDOLPH

 

 

Focused on the collection of Diane and Marc Grainer, active members of the Mint affiliate the Founders’ Circle Ltd. , this survey of contemporary British studio ceramics to be installed at Mint Museum Randolph includes functional and sculptural objects made between the 1980s and today. It features work by artists either born or residing in Great Britain, including established “contemporary classics” such as Gordon Baldwin and Rupert Spira , and cutting edge ceramicists such as Julian Stair and Kate Malone . The Grainers are well-known in the United States as collectors of studio furniture and American craft in general, and as leaders in the craft community through their work with the American Crafts Council , the Furniture Society , and the James Renwick Alliance . Whether a pot or sculpture, the properties of the raw material of clay, from its soft malleable texture to the alchemy of slips and glazes, and its propensity to melt and harden, are at the core of the artists’ passion.

Visit the Exhibition Page .

Sarah Wolfe | Curatorial Assistant Craft + Design & Fashion

 

IMAGES

Eugene Healan Thomason (American, 1895-1972). Hankins, 1971, oil on canvas. The Johnson Collection

Eugene Healan Thomason (American, 1895-1972). After Hurricane Hazel, 1954, oil on masonite. The Johnson Collection.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901). Divan Japonaise,  1893, lithograph. Given in memory of Blayney Nicholson Tillett by her children. 2003.4. Collection of The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

Robin Welch (British, 1936–). Group of Three Conical Forms, 1998, wheel-thrown stoneware. Gift of Diane and Marc Grainer. 2011.36.22.1-3. Collection of The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

 

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