The Frist Art Museum Announces Its 2019 Exhibitions

As the city's de facto art center, the Frist has been saddled with the responsibility of appealing to the largest possible audience. And with that audience getting larger — both through a booming population growth as well as a tourist industry that I don't need to explain to anyone who's been downtown for, say, 20 minutes in the past few years — that's becoming an increasingly tall order. Luckily for all of us, the newly renamed and rebranded Frist Art Museum seems up to the task. The museum just announced its 2019 exhibition schedule, and it includes an array of exhibits that promise to appeal to young and old, aggressive-basic and avant-garde, transplants and tourists. The schedule even includes some programming that's actually ABOUT Nashville's development — way to get meta, guys.

I'm most excited about a show of Mexican modernism that features lots of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and a wartime surrealism show that will bring in works by Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. But there's also an exhibit of Brazilian twin art stars who make fantastic larger-than-life work as OSGEMEOS, and the first comprehensive exhibition exclusively devoted to Native women artists. I'm really only scratching the surface — the days are just packed. Read the full press release below:

In the Ingram Gallery, the year begins with the companion shows Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and A Sporting Vision: The Paul Mellon Collection of British Sporting Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, both intriguing looks into the Mellons’ remarkable collecting strategies. Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection will showcase celebrated works from one of the most significant private holdings of twentieth-century Mexican art. Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists is the first comprehensive exhibition exclusively devoted to Native women artists from North America.

In the Upper-Level Galleries, Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing examines the photographer’s work through the lens of social and political activism, presenting arresting images from the Great Depression, Japanese internment camps, and other work through the 1950s. Monsters & Myths: Surrealism and War in the 1930s and 1940s features works by Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Dorothea Tanning and more, and explores the powerful and unsettling images created in response to the threat of war and Fascist rule. Eric Carle’s Picture Books: Celebrating 50 Years of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” presents nearly 100 original artworks, spanning five decades of the beloved illustrator’s picture-book career.

In the Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery, the Frist presents Claudio Parmiggiani: Dematerialization, the first museum exhibition in the United States by the revered Italian artist. The Brazilian artist duo OSGEMEOS—identical twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo—will transform the gallery into a vibrant, immersive installation. The year will conclude with an exhibition of new sculptures by New York–based artist Diana Al-Hadid.

In the Conte Community Arts Gallery, the Frist presents the community-focused exhibitions Young Tennessee Artists; Connect/Disconnect: Growth in the “It” City; and Nashville Walls.

For more information about each exhibition, please see the attached press release or visit our website