CROSSING THE BLVD February 4-June 28, 2008

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This ground-breaking multimedia exhibition documents the lives of recent immigrants — those who came here with support and sponsorship, those who attained refugee status, and those who remain displaced and undocumented.

Using audio interviews, still photography, and innovative installation design, artists Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan conduct a global journey through the streets of Queens, with stories of ocean and border crossings, wars, economic hardship, dreams, and cultural divides. An interactive booth integrated into the display allows individuals to write their own stories and add their own pictures.

SPIRIT AND POWER
in African Art October 1-December 15, 2007

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This exhibition of over 100 objects from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries will comprise masks, figures, and ritual and practical objects. Featured objects are made of wood, copper alloy, brass, bronze and ivory and come from regions throughout Africa such as Mali, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Zaire.

The objects are selected from the Godwin-Ternbach Museum’s permanent collection as well as that of the Queensborough Community College Art Gallery and will run concurrently with a special exhibition of Cameroon art www.qccartgallery.org on view at the Queensborough Community College Art Gallery.

Spirit and Power interprets each object’s aesthetic and social or religious significance and provides a compelling look at the influence and importance of African art in our current culture and economy. Public programs will discuss these topics as well as the cross-currents of influence flowing between African and Western art.

Sharing Dreams Across the Digital Divide: Cuban & American Graphic Art
June 25-August 9, 2007

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Americans may be surprised to learn that materials such as books, magazines, and digital art are not covered by the U.S. embargo on Cuban products—leaving Americans and Cubans free to exchange ideas through art and culture.

Since 2004, graphic designers in both countries have been exchanging ideas in the liveliest way through an ongoing project called “Shared Dreams” that culminates in the annual International Digital Design Exhibit in Havana. Using visual design and digital technology—the language of artists—as well as their own written commentary, they reach across borders to create dramatic and brilliantly colored posters. From 2004 through 2006, a total of 18 Cuban and 18 U.S. designers participated, producing posters on the themes of “Shared Dreams,” “Dreams of Peace,” and “Love Conquers All.”

Now, all 36 original posters will be on display in Sharing Dreams: Cuban and American Graphic Designers Across the Digital Divide, at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College, from June 25 through August 9. The work demonstrates that Cubans and Americans think surprisingly alike when it comes to peace and security, and the importance of grassroots interaction in building bonds of friendship. This important exhibition, which has traveled to Canada, as well as the West Coast and the Puffin Cultural Foundation in Teaneck, New Jersey, now makes its New York debut.

Accompanying the main gallery exhibition will be posters of Cuban cinema and selections of Cuban art recently given by the Lannan Foundation to the Godwin-Ternbach Museum collection.

The Grandeur of Islamic Art in Image and Object
February 13 - May 31, 2007.

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This exhibition features stunning fine art photographs of the world-renowned Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, assembled by Iranian-born entrepreneur and Queens College alumnus, Nasser D. Khalili, Research Professor at the London University School of Oriental and African Studies. Selected Islamic objects from the Godwin-Ternbach Museum, co-curated by Lisa Brody, Assistant Professor, Queens College Art Department, accompany the display.

Funding for the exhibition has been made possible, in part, by the Office of the President of Queens College, the Michael Harrington Center, the Kupferberg Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Friends of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum.

POPSTARS!
September 18-
December 14, 2006.

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POPSTARS! features original prints and multi-media works by the superstars of Pop Art: Patrick Caulfield, Jim Dine, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Mel Ramos, Larry Rivers, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol, including the Campbell's Soup II and Electric Chair series.
 
In the world of Pop art, the everyday was portrayed as extraordinary in the same way that celebrity was an idol of worship. From Lichtenstein’s comic strip art and Warhol’s Campbell Soup cans to Larry Rivers’ interpretation of media and historical events, Pop art did not discriminate between kitsch and
political commentary. Anything and everything was fair game. POPSTARS! examines the relationship between
Pop art and the current phenomenon of
pop culture. Pop art revolutionized American art and triggered a subculture all its own whose impact is still felt today in society’s veneration of celebrity and extreme consumerism.

Louis Armstrong:
American Jazz Icon.
June 20-August 10, 2006.

The works in this exhibition are drawn from the Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives at Queens College. They include artworks and writings by Louis himself, awards, albums, photographs and memorabilia from his collection and from popular culture, which document and celebrate his life. This exhibition is dedicated to Louis Armstrong and to the City of New Orleans that gave birth to this beloved icon of American culture.

The Fabric of Cultures: Fashion, Indentity, Globalization.
February 14-June 1, 2006.

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click image at left.

An exhibition of over 30 garments and numerous textiles, representing aesthetics and techniques from around the world, selected from the Godwin-Ternbach Museum and the Queens College Costume Collection and complemented by loans from private collections and international designers. Traditional garments and textiles of non-Western cultures are shown along with modern examples from Western societies to explore how the world of fashion has been enriched by different ethnic sources, the reciprocal relationship of fashion and culture, and the central role of clothing in our lives. Designed to highlight and embrace the rich multicultural composition of the borough of Queens, it demonstrates how fashion, based in the world of appearances, is an ideal vehicle for visual interpretation and examination of our world.

September 15-
December 15, 2005.

Photojournalist Barbara Grover has traveled throughout the land to interview and photograph people for this project. Life-size photographs and first-person narratives in text and audio format offer an alternative approach to the most important global issue of our times, using visual art as an educational medium to effect and transform social and political consciousness. The photos and narratives, printed on large canvas panels side by side with the texts, represent Israelis and Palestinians from all walks of life and perspectives. Their stories answer the question of what the land means to them in candid, intimate terms. The Museum will host lectures, films, and open forums led by national figures of Israeli and Palestinian security, diplomacy, public policy, and religion, engaging individuals throughout Queens and metropolitan NY.

Music and the Visual Arts: A Multicultural Celebration. June 18-August 4, 2005.

This exhibition celebrates the cultural diversity of the borough of Queens and the theme of music with work by artists from all over Queens, including paintings, prints, photographs, sculpture, and installations. Complementing the contemporary art, in the upper gallery, are selections from the Museum's collection, with works ranging from the ancient world to the 20th century that also depict music and related images of dance and celebration from various cultures.

Annemarie Schwarzenbach: Selected Photographs and Writings, 1933-1940. February 7-June 2, 2005.

Organized by Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College. Curated by Barbara Lorey de Lacharièrre.

Celebrated abroad and the subject of numerous films and books, Annemarie Schwarzenbach (1908-1942) led a short but intense life marked by conflict, drug addiction, unhappy affairs—and prodigious talent as a photographer and author. Called the “ravaged angel” by Thomas Mann, writers like Carson McCullers dedicated novels to her, while others described her as a “noble being of captivating charm.” Only recently has she become known beyond the German-speaking world. This exhibition documents her work in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East during the 1930s and on the verge of World War II. It provides a glimpse into the heart and mind of this singular and multi-talented individual whose life was both unusual and tragic.

Recent Acquisitions; 1998-2004. October 13-December 15, 2004.

Artworks carefully selected from more than 500 objects donated over the past six years include New Guinea ancestral totem poles, a suite of prints by Surrealist Max Ernst, woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer; a 15th- century Gothic head of the Virgin Mary, an 18th-century Madonna and Child of the Cuzco School, pre-Hispanic Peruvian textiles and ceramics, and prints by Braque, Miró, Hiroshige, Bearden, and others. A beautiful group of Spanish and Latin American paintings, prints, and drawings donated by The Lannan Foundation, a major supporter of the visual arts in America, is also on display.

Memory and History. February 18-June 6, 2004.

Co-sponsored by the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, and The Center for Jewish Studies.

Through their uniquely individual yet universal artworks, Amore and Jakobsberg explore themes of immigration, family, and history, and confront the highly charged subjects of personal and group cultural memory. Both artists utilize collage and assemblage to evoke the layered, elusive and often disorderly processes of memory to construct poignant visual narratives. Family photographs, letters, and keepsakes mingle with family stories, nostalgia, and history to examine and trigger the sometimes joyful, sometimes painful or bittersweet, remains of the past.

The Light of Infinite Wisdom: Asian Art from the Godwin Ternbach Museum and Other Collections. October 15 – December 20, 2003.

Co-curated by Xiao Ping Lin (Professor, Art History, Queens College); co-sponsored by the Asian-American Center; with loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and other private collections in New York.

A wide range of works in all media, including sculpture, metalwork, ceramics, paintings, woodblock prints, decorative arts, and textiles are highlighted in this exhibition of over 90 objects from China, India, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, and Sri Lanka, dating from the second millennium BC through the 20th century. The exhibition thematically explores the interrelation of these works in the contexts of Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Taoism, the five major sources of wisdom that have enlightened Asian civilizations to this day.

Clinton Hill: 1980-2002. February 18 – May 23, 2003

This 20-year retrospective of 80 hand-made paper constructions, wood and plastic relief sculptures, paintings, and prints celebrates Clinton Hill's long and distinguished career as an artist of the New York School. A pioneer paper artist, Hill was one of the first to explore the possibilities of handmade paper as an art form, which resulted in a dramatic synthesis of abstract imagery and material support.

En Foco, New Work: 2001 Annual Award Exhibition. June 18 – July 30, 2002.

On display are award-winning portfolios of multicultural photographers Gaye Chan (Hawaiian- Chinese), Lisa Jong-Soon Goodlin (Korean-born American); Larry McNeil, (Northwest Coast Tlinglit tribe), and Rosey Hong-An Truong, (Vietnamese-American). These highly accessible and emotionally moving images incorporate color and black and white photographs and texts, autobiographical themes and cultural issues in traditional, documentary, abstract, digital, and other alternative photographic processes. En Foco is a national non- profit photography collective that sponsors the work of outstanding photographers of African, Asian, Latino and Native American heritage.

Director’s Choice: Highlights of the Godwin-Ternbach Collection, Part II: Renaissance to Modern Art. October 10- December 20, 2002

This second installation reintroducing the Museum’s collections includes
highlights of sculpture, decorative arts, paintings, drawings and prints, from the 15th century to modern times; and art and artifacts of African, Asian, and Native American Northwest Coast cultures.

Director’s Choice: Highlights of the Godwin-Ternbach Collection, Part I: Ancient to Renaissance Art. April 17- June 1, 2002

A reintroduction of the Museum, this exhibition displays the best of the collection’s art and artifacts from the ancient worlds of Mesopotamia and the Near East, Asia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and pre-Columbian America, and artworks from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.