Students curate Johnson Museum exhibit

A new student-organized exhibition at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art surveys American artists’ use of landscape as the country expanded between the middle of the 19th and 20th centuries.

“Shifting Ground,” curated by undergraduate members of the History of Art Majors’ Society (HAMS), includes various depictions of the American frontier, from the Hudson River School to photography of newly christened national parks and images of postwar cityscapes and open roads. Some landscapes selected for display also reflect growing concerns among citizens and artists in the 1960s and ’70s around issues including citizenship, the environment, representation and migration, and searches for a common thread between how particular landscapes are portrayed, and why.

“Color Landscape (Gaeana Festiva)” (1981) by Patricia Johanson, from the exhibition “Shifting Ground.” Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art/Provided

An opening celebration for “Shifting Ground,” hosted by HAMS and the Museum Club, is April 27 from 9 to 11 p.m. in the Wing and Opatrny galleries, free and open to all, with presentations by curators and student educators, art activities and refreshments. Patricia Johanson, whose work is included in the exhibition, gives a free artist’s talk May 3 at 5:15 p.m. in the museum’s Wing Lecture Room. The museum is open until 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through May 10.

The exhibition project was overseen by Leah Sweet, Lynch Curatorial Coordinator for Academic Programs at the museum, and Brittany Rubin, print room curatorial assistant.

This article also appeared in the Cornell Chronicle.