The University Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA) celebrates the 60th anniversary of its permanent art collection, begun in 1962, with this special exhibition of 115 artists whose works are drawn from more than 3,600 prints, drawings, photographs, and multiples — from masters of mid- and late 20th-century art to work by the leading artists of our time. Join us to explore our university's remarkable, and sometimes hidden, visual arts resource. 

The 60th anniversary exhibition is a major milestone for the UMCA, but also a moment for reflection, critical examination, and charting new directions. The exhibition reveals the museum’s most recent collecting strategy that prioritizes diversifying the collection. Recent acquisitions of works by women and by artists of color point to a renewed commitment to inclusion of artwork by under recognized artists into this important UMass resource for study and research. As we enter the next vibrant chapter of our story, we will expand our reach and impact and continue to champion powerfully diverse artistic expressions of our ever-changing world. This exhibition highlights the UMCA’s commitment to contemporary art as a catalyst for discussing the urgent issues of our time, building community, and creating empathy.

This exhibition also celebrates the donors and artists whose generous gifts have made it possible for the UMCA to grow its collection. We are excited to include the voices of all four UMCA Directors, past and present, who, during their tenure, enabled the Museum to acquire significant works by artists who were emerging on the national and international scene.

Neither a survey nor organized chronologically, works by multigenerational artists are grouped thematically to accentuate visual associations and to recontextualize the familiar while introducing the new.


Artists whose work is part of 60 Years of Collecting include:

Robert Adams	Annette Lemieux
Ansel Adams	Helen Levitt
Diane Arbus	Sol LeWitt
Tauba Auerbach	Roy Lichtenstein
Radcliffe Bailey	Robert Mapplethorpe
Miroslaw Balka	Ryan McGinness
Jennifer Bartlett	Ralph Meatyard
Olivia Bernard	Claus Oldenburg
Mel Bochner	Stephen Petegorsky
Manuel Alvarez Bravo	Jefferson Pinder
Harry Callahan	Martin Puryear
Alexis Callender	Walid Raad
Larry Clark	Robert Rauschenberg
Agnes Denes	Dorothea Rockburne
Leonardo Drew	Tim Rollins & KOS
Elliot Erwitt	James Rosenquist
Brendan Fernandes	Sheron Rupp
Robert Frank	Betye Saar
LaToya Ruby Frazier	Joel Shapiro
Lee Friedlander	Lorna Simpson
David Goldblatt	Kiki Smith
Andreas Gursky	Raphael Jesus Soto
Hans Haacke	Ralph Steiner
Keith Haring	Frank Stella
Jenny Holzer	Mickalene Thomas
Roni Horn	Thongchai
Mary Ijichi	George Tice
Imo Imeh	Kara Walker
Xylor Jane	Andy Warhol
Yun-fei Ji	Carolyn Webb
Jasper Johns	Carrie Mae Weems
Donald Judd	James Welling
Anish Kapoor	Fred Wilson
Ellsworth Kelly	Gary Winogrand
Kimsooja	Terry Winters
An-My Lê

 

Press

Daily Collegian  '60 Years of Collecting': Loretta Yarlow's new exhibition
Featured article on the Daily Hampshire Gazzette
ARTSCOPE Article: "Anniversary reveals UMCA's Impressive Collection"
ConvergenceRI Article: "To showcase 3,800 hidden treasures"

Sponsors

60 Years of Collecting and its related programs are supported by UMassFive College Federal Credit Union; Women for UMass; the Class of 1961 Artists Residency Fund; and The Massachusetts Review.
With gratitude to our campus partners and colleagues for their collaboration: Assistant Professor Kelsey Whipple, Department of Journalism; Professor Sohee Koo, Art Department

 

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