September 14, 2021-July 17, 2022

This exhibition examines scale—painterly, bodily, architectural, institutional—and presence in contemporary abstract painting. Actual size contributes to the sense of an artwork’s monumentality, but scale proves fundamentally relational: something once considered minor can suddenly loom large. After more than a year of primarily screen-based experiences, how do we each locate ourselves in shared space again, and in relation to what? What Looms Large was organized by guest curator Kate Nesin.

 

Abstractly shaped square canvas, primarily painted grey with metallic cylindrical shapes
Samia Halaby, Aluminum and Steel, 1971, oil on linen. Gift of Anne and Jack Thompson, Class of 1946, Mead Art Museum, Amherst College.