The threatening political climate of the late 1930s and early 1940s, specifically the chaos and horror created by the Nazi regime, caused numerous artists to flee from Europe. Many sought refuge in the United States; as a result, the center of the art world began to shift from Paris to New York. New York's burgeoning art scene allowed many young American artists to converse and collaborate closely with European artists whose art they had previously only viewed in museums.
Exhibition sponsored by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; Krannert Art Museum Director's Circle; and Krannert Art Museum Council.
Intersections is a mixed media installation focusing on works created during the postwar years (1945-51) by established artists in exile, including Yves Tanguy and Marc Chagall; younger international artists, such as Roberto Matta and Hedda Sterne; eager American artists, including Robert Motherwell and William Baziotes; and other international artists exhibiting in New York at the time. The work produced during this period not only highlights the influence of surrealism, expressionism, and cubism, but also shows how practicing artists endured and reacted to their displacement through creative endeavors.
Curator: Kathryn Koca Polite
