Orlando, FL — June 21, 2018

The Mennello Museum of American Art is proud to announce our first-time production of a limited edition made in partnership with multi-media Korean-American artist, Jiha Moon. At our invitation, Moon has created 20 small ceramic sculptures exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art. Her hand-painted porcelain vessel will make a beautiful and memorable addition to your collection. Get your beautiful cup while you can, there are only 20 signed in this exclusive collection!

Incorporating her signature blue and white in reference to traditional Asian ceramic glazes, Dutch Delftware, and Blue Willow china patterns, Moon also brings several of her iconic cultural images: the peach, identified in Chinese Mythology as a symbol of immortality, while also paying homage to her adopted state of Georgia, whose signature fruit is the peach. She includes the fortune cookie, which originated in California but is identified as Chinese, along with her ‘all-seeing’ eyes to create a distinctive face or, as she puts forth, a mask.

Jiha Moon,  Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, 2018, porcelain, underglaze and glaze, 5 x 4 x 5 inches, hand painted signed edition of 20 created exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art.  Edition cost $250.

PRE-PURCHASE TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR LIMITED EDITION
Delivery not included. Pick up at the Mennello Museum beginning on June 29, 2018, at the Opening Reception.

In addition to Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, the museum also announces the fabrication of Jiha Moon, Peach (Pillow)based on her iconic painting, Peach Mask II, included in the exhibition.  Filled with wonderful icons, cultural signifiers, flora and fauna and wondrous beasts all with a message of love – these pillows will brighten any home with joy and humor, reflective of Moon’s distinctive art-making practice.

“The voluptuous peach with its rosy bloom, believed to be native to China, can be likened in forms to breasts, buttocks, and a heart — and, surprisingly, the shape of Angry Birds.  A symbol of immortality and fertility in many Eastern mythologies, the peach also wards off evil.  Moon uses the shape often, and a nod to her home state of Georgia, known as the peach state.” states Lilly Wei in her essay “Moonstruck in Wonderland” in the exhibition catalog, also available for purchase.

These pillows are available at the museum for $50, while quantities last!  They are an edition of 30.

Please check out this video of Moon talking about her fascination with the peach and what it means to her:

The Mennello Museum of American Art is pleased to present the work of multi-media Korean-American artist Jiha Moon in an upcoming solo exhibition, Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here. The exhibition will be on view from June 22 through August 12, 2018, with an Artist Talk and Opening Reception on June 29.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Moon harvests cultural elements native to Korea, Japan, and China and then unites them with Western elements to investigate the multi‐faceted nature of our current global identity as influenced by popular culture, technology, racial perceptions, and folklore. Featuring over 50 works, Moon blurs the lines between Western and Eastern identified iconography such as the characters from the online game Angry Birds© and smart phone Emojis which float alongside Asian tigers and Indian gods, in compositions that appear simultaneously familiar and foreign.

“I am delighted to welcome Jiha Moon and share her wonderful work with Orlando.” States Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director.  She continues: “Jiha brings whimsy, fabulous energy, fantasy and joy to painting, printmaking, sculpture, andinstallation that awe and inspire.  Her image density and color-saturated work weave often incongruousnarratives about culture and identity to address stereotypes and assumptions through her ‘mad’ use of metaphor and symbolism. Jiha’s ‘Wonderland’ is truly something to wonder!”

Moon’s witty and ironic work explores how Westerners perceive other cultures and how perceived foreigners see the West. Korean born, now living in the United States, Moon asks the pertinent question, “Why do people love foreign stuff so much? When we travel to other countries, explore different cultures, and meet with new people, we tend to fall in love with things that are not our own. People have a soft spot for foreign things. The world is so interconnected nowadays, how can you even tell where someone or something ‘comes from’ anymore?” In her work, Moon acts in the role of a traveler, and explores the notion that identity is not beholden to geographic location.

This exhibition is organized by the Taubman Museum of Art in collaboration with the Halsey Institute and curated by Amy G. Moorefield, former Deputy Director of Exhibition and Collections at the Taubman Museum of Art, and Mark Sloan,Director and Chief Curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art with special assistance from Andrea Pollan, Curator’s Office, Washington, D.C.; Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia; and Ryan Lee Gallery, New York, New York.

ABOUT JIHA MOON

Born and raised in Daegu, Korea, Jiha Moon lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Korea University in Seoul, Korea. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Asia Society, New York City, New York; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia; and the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at notable museums nationwide including at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee; and the Weatherspoon Museum of Art, Greensboro, North Carolina. She has been the recipient of several residencies including Omi International Arts Center, Ghent, New York; the Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire. In 2011, Moon was the recipient of a prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Painter and Sculpture grant. She is represented by Curator’s Office in Washington, D.C., Saltworks Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, and Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami.

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Please savethe date for the opening reception of Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here.

Preview & Opening Reception
Friday, June 29, 2018

Gallery Talk with Jiha Moon
5:30 – 6:30 pm

Opening Reception
6:30 – 8:30 pm

Free for members | $10 for Guests
Tickets » http://www.bit.ly/jihamoon

First Friday Tour
July 6, August 3
11 – 11:45 am

Free tour with the Executive Director or Associate Curator of Education with regular paid admission or Mennello Museum Membership

Free Family Funday
July 8, August 12
12 – 2:30 pm

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PLEASE NOTE THE BELOW REQUIRED CREDITS FOR IMAGES:
Hi-res images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f9pxsavmovguhdm/AAAun2zgiZkkPn2BnZrrXzwia?dl=0

Images:

Jiha Moon,  Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, 2018, porcelain, underglaze and glaze, 5 x 4 x 5 inches, hand painted signed edition of 20 created exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art.  Edition cost $250.

Jiha Moon,  Fortune Cookie Mayumyi, 2018, porcelain, underglaze and glaze, 5 x 4 x 5 inches, hand painted signed edition of 20 created exclusively for the Mennello Museum of American Art.  Edition cost $250.

Jiha Moon, Peach (Pillow). Courtesy of the Mennello Museum of American Art.

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Mission, Vision and Values

Mission
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret our outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Mennello Museum of American Art also seeks to enrich the public through temporary exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and publications that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American art and artists across a broad range of disciplines to reflect the rich diversity of American art, while making it accessible to all. The Museum also shares extraordinary works of American art donated by our founders, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and Michael A. Mennello.

Vision
The vision of the Mennello Museum of American Art to be a distinguished and thriving institution that will build on its City of Orlando base of support through strong board and community relationships resulting in an improved operating environment and a reputation for being a local and national treasure.

Values
Quality. We believe the City of Orlando deserves only the best; we aim to excel at everything we do.

Accessibility. We believe in creating a welcoming space and experience for all; we are friendly, welcome diversity, and are inclusive of all.

Curiosity. We never stop learning or thinking; we continually push boundaries and explore new ideas and strive to remain relevant and provide meaningful experiences.

Collaboration. We believe community partners are essential to mutual success; we work to build relationships and co-create with individuals and organizations.

Stewardship. The Museum will serve in perpetuity; to ensure this, we build and care for our collections, make smart use of our financial resources, and continually invest in our future.

Accountability. We exist to benefit the community; we demonstrate our success and value to the residents of Orlando and our visitors.

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About the Museum

The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society.  In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices.

On view beginning June 22, 2018, Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here

View all of our upcoming events: www.mennellomuseum.org/events

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

Website  ·  Facebook  ·  Instagram  ·  Twitter

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Download this Press Release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113

Orlando, FL — June 19, 2018

The Mennello Museum of American Art is pleased to present THE COLLECTORS PASSION: PAINTINGS BY LAURENCE A. CAMPBELL. The exhibition will be on view in the Mennello Museum’s Marilyn Gallery from July 20 through October 7, 2018, with an Opening Reception on July 20.

THE COLLECTORS PASSION: PAINTINGS BY LAURENCE A. CAMPBELL presents the continued interest and art connoisseurship of the Mennello Museum’s co-founder, Michael A. Mennello. His passion further influences this drive to collect in the myriad of people he befriends, including the Keen and Perez families. In particular, these individuals take immense joy in the paintings of the great American cityscape draped in American flags in seasons, and paintings inspired by the impressionists. Campbell’s scenes of his native Philadelphia and New York City extoll his own, and by extension his collectors’, pride in country and admiration for the historic architecture established in the American city.

Katherine Navarro, Mennello Museum Associate Curator of Education and exhibition curator states: “We are delighted to present the lush and flag-clad city paintings of Laurence A. Campbell whose work presents the awe-inspiring natural changes of the seasons and urban centers at various times of day, which altogether provoke thoughts of the intermingled cycles of human life,” She continues, “This exhibition, as the title suggests, is further a celebration of the passion of the art collector, which is so important to widespread continued appreciation for an artist’s own production of great cultural creations. We thank our collectors and their families for allowing us to bring their treasures to the museum for all to see.”

Laurence A. Campbell is a modern painter who conveys a quiet contemplation of life in big cities during the latter half of the 20^th century. His snow covered cities depicted in the style of heavy brush strokes in light and color are a nod to the impressionists before him, building upon the method and making it his own. Campbell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1939, growing up with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in his backyard and a few blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Campbell is known to have visited the PMA often throughout his youth, spurring his imagination and admiration for art, which propelled him to study architecture at Temple University. Later, he established his own construction firm. During his time in construction, Campbell also worked restoring art pieces, giving him the advantage of studying the methodology and technicality of masterpieces. From there, Campbell painted commissions requested by clients for recreations of their favorite works. Establishing his own gallery in 1970, Campbell too continued depicting his own favored subjects, scenes of city high rises covered in snow, under rain, and with the setting sun of an autumn day.

With a selection of seventeen pieces from local collectors, this exhibit presents stunning examples in both intimate and large-scale works on panel and canvas. Never before seen in the museum setting, they highlight the variety of city spaces, times, and seasons that inspired the hand of this little-known painter. Campbell emulates the themes and sentiments of Childe Hassam’s WWI flag displays along 5th Avenue and Guy C. Wiggin’s snow drenched streets and their people in New York, bringing in his own ambitions, creating unique compositions that favor an intense and muted palate inspired by the changes in natural light of seasons in the city at landmarks from the great Ironside to Trinity Church and the surrounding 5^th Avenue and Wall Street in New York. The individuality of people stands out in Campbell’s paintings, determined as the skyscrapers, standing their ground in the harsh but beautiful weather.

COLLECTORS PASSION is curated by Katherine E. Navarro, Marilyn L. Mennello Associate Curator of Education. The Mennello Museum is pleased to present paintings from the collections of Michael A. Mennello, The Allan E. and Linda S. Keen Family, and Dr. Manuel and Destiny Perez. An exhibition catalog will be accompanying the exhibition with an essay written by Navarro.

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Please save the date for the opening reception of THE COLLECTORS PASSION: PAINTINGS BY LAURENCE A. CAMPBELL. 

Member Preview & Opening Reception
Friday, July 20, 2018
5:30 – 7:30 pm

Free for members | $10 for Guests
Non-Member Tickets » http://bit.ly/campbelltickets
www.mennellomuseum.org/events

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PLEASE NOTE THE BELOW REQUIRED CREDITS FOR IMAGES:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l7g01s674i9mhwv/AADgaea87SRF7LoncLdsvsfia?dl=0

Images:

Parade on 5^th Avenue, nd, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches. Collection of Michael A. Mennello.

5th Avenue, nd, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches. Collection of Dr. Manuel and Destiny Perez.

Winter in Manhattan, 5th Avenue, nd, oil on canvas, 21 x 17. Collection of the Allan E. and Linda S. Keen Family.

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Mission, Vision and Values

Mission
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret our outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Mennello Museum of American Art also seeks to enrich the public through temporary exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and publications that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American art and artists across a broad range of disciplines to reflect the rich diversity of American art, while making it accessible to all. The Museum also shares extraordinary works of American art donated by our founders, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and Michael A. Mennello.

Vision
The vision of the Mennello Museum of American Art to be a distinguished and thriving institution that will build on its City of Orlando base of support through strong board and community relationships resulting in an improved operating environment and a reputation for being a local and national treasure.

Values
Quality. We believe the City of Orlando deserves only the best; we aim to excel at everything we do.

Accessibility. We believe in creating a welcoming space and experience for all; we are friendly, welcome diversity, and are inclusive of all.

Curiosity. We never stop learning or thinking; we continually push boundaries and explore new ideas and strive to remain relevant and provide meaningful experiences.

Collaboration. We believe community partners are essential to mutual success; we work to build relationships and co-create with individuals and organizations.

Stewardship. The Museum will serve in perpetuity; to ensure this, we build and care for our collections, make smart use of our financial resources, and continually invest in our future.

Accountability. We exist to benefit the community; we demonstrate our success and value to the residents of Orlando and our visitors.

---

About the Museum

The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society.  In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices.

On view beginning June 22, 2018, Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here

View all of our upcoming events: www.mennellomuseum.org/events

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

Website  ·  Facebook  ·  Instagram  ·  Twitter

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Download this Press Release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113

Orlando, FL — June 5, 2018

Mennello Museum of American Art, its staff, and Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art Board of Directors extend a heartfelt welcome to the newest members of our Board of Directors: Denise Autorino, Jeffrey Gitto, Sarah Grafton, Dr. Manuel Perez, Paul T. Scarborough, Andrea Sider, Jan Staniszkis and John Upperco.

Through personal investment and enthusiasm, committee participation, and service as community ambassadors, our Friends Board enables the Museum to remain a cultural jewel for Orlando and all of Central Florida. The new Board Members bring a wide range of experience, expertise, and passion to the museum, especially at a time of new invigoration and future advancement.  The addition of these eight leaders increase the Board by 40% and reflects forward thinking and exciting new leadership making great additions to the long-time stewardship of all members.

The Friends’ leadership and support provide critical funding for all our mission-driven programs to include the production and presentation of innovative and timely exhibitions, the generation of smart and rewarding education programs for people of all ages and abilities, vital marketing, and professional staff.

Walter A. Ketcham, Jr., Vice President, Friends Board shares: “With the addition of these new members, our board continues to be in good hands and ready to face the future including commencing our campaign to enlarge our museum.”

Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director, states “It has been a privilege to cultivate and get to know our new Board Members and I embrace their contributions to the museum at this exciting time of growth.  Their support helps us deliver our mission to our diverse audiences every day- as we enter our 20th year and work to define our bright future, I am grateful for their generous support and advocacy.”

Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art
Board of Directors

Denise Autorino | Sam Azar | David Cross | Jeffrey Gitto | Sarah Grafton | Allan Keen | Mary C. Kenny | Vanessa Ketcham, Secretary | Walter A. Ketcham, Jr., Vice President | Sharon Line Clary | Howard Marks | Genean McKinnon | Michael A. Mennello, Founder & President | Dr. Manuel Perez | Paul T. Scarborough | Andrea Sider | Ross Silverbach | James Southall, Finance Chair &Treasurer |Michael Stewart | Jan Staniszkis | John Upperco

 

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PLEASE NOTE THE BELOW REQUIRED CREDITS FOR IMAGES:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/14mfioehv58oid7/AABxucauGOwb6f_5h5czHC5ba?dl=0

Images:

Courtesy of the Mennello Museum of American Art.

 

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Mission, Vision and Values

Mission
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret our outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Mennello Museum of American Art also seeks to enrich the public through temporary exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and publications that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American art and artists across a broad range of disciplines to reflect the rich diversity of American art, while making it accessible to all. The Museum also shares extraordinary works of American art donated by our founders, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and Michael A. Mennello.

Vision
The vision of the Mennello Museum of American Art to be a distinguished and thriving institution that will build on its City of Orlando base of support through strong board and community relationships resulting in an improved operating environment and a reputation for being a local and national treasure.

Values
Quality. We believe the City of Orlando deserves only the best; we aim to excel at everything we do.

Accessibility. We believe in creating a welcoming space and experience for all; we are friendly, welcome diversity, and are inclusive of all.

Curiosity. We never stop learning or thinking; we continually push boundaries and explore new ideas and strive to remain relevant and provide meaningful experiences.

Collaboration. We believe community partners are essential to mutual success; we work to build relationships and co-create with individuals and organizations.

Stewardship. The Museum will serve in perpetuity; to ensure this, we build and care for our collections, make smart use of our financial resources, and continually invest in our future.

Accountability. We exist to benefit the community; we demonstrate our success and value to the residents of Orlando and our visitors.

---

About the Museum

The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society.  In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices.

On view through June 10, 2018, When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan

View all of our upcoming events: www.mennellomuseum.org/events

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

Website  ·  Facebook  ·  Instagram  ·  Twitter

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

---

Download this Press Release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113

Orlando, FL — May 2, 2018

The Mennello Museum of American Art is pleased to present the work of multi-media Korean-American artist Jiha Moon in an upcoming solo exhibition, Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here. The exhibition will be on view from June 22 through August 12, 2018, with an Artist Talk and Opening Reception on June 29.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Moon harvests cultural elements native to Korea, Japan, and China and then unites them with Western elements to investigate the multi‐faceted nature of our current global identity as influenced by popular culture, technology, racial perceptions, and folklore. Featuring over 50 works, Moon blurs the lines between Western and Eastern identified iconography such as the characters from the online game Angry Birds© and smart phone Emojis which float alongside Asian tigers and Indian gods, in compositions that appear simultaneously familiar and foreign.

“I am delighted to welcome Jiha Moon and share her wonderful work with Orlando.” States Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director.  She continues: “Jiha brings whimsy, fabulous energy, fantasy and joy to painting, printmaking, sculpture, and installation that awe and inspire.  Her image density and color-saturated work weave often incongruous narratives about culture and identity to address stereotypes and assumptions through her ‘mad’ use of metaphor and symbolism. Jiha’s ‘Wonderland’ is truly something to wonder!”

Moon’s witty and ironic work explores how Westerners perceive other cultures and how perceived foreigners see the West. Korean born, now living in the United States, Moon asks the pertinent question, “Why do people love foreign stuff so much? When we travel to other countries, explore different cultures, and meet with new people, we tend to fall in love with things that are not our own. People have a soft spot for foreign things. The world is so interconnected nowadays, how can you even tell where someone or something ‘comes from’ anymore?” In her work, Moon acts in the role of a traveler, and explores the notion that identity is not beholden to geographic location.

Honoring traditional Asian arts through her use of Hanji paper, Korean silk, and calligraphic brushstrokes, she plays with iconography and symbols throughout the exhibition that have been classified as “foreign” such as blue willow china patterns, fortune cookies (which originated in California but are identified as Chinese), Korean fans, and floating dragons. She intermingles them with references to Pop and southern folk art. Her use of the peach identified in Chinese mythology as a symbol of immortality is also a nod to her home state of Georgia’s mascot, the “Georgia Peach.” Moon transforms a traditional Korean fashion accessory called “Norigae” into endearing quirky manifestations of various personalities, with such names as Gloria and Rachel whose hair is interwoven with eclectic items such as children’s plastic barrettes or Native American beaded dolls. Her misshapen and whimsical ceramics reference southern folk art face jugs yet are painted in traditional Asian ceramic glazes and motifs. At the heart of the exhibition, Moon presents an installation featuring perceived kitschy elements of Asian home décor: low wooden tables and silk embroidered pillows placed on Japanese tatami mats. Displayed on the various surfaces are her unconventional ceramic works reflecting her interest in the “beautiful awkward” in which she makes reference to a tourist’s desire to collect foreign and exotic elements to beautify their houses back home.

At first glance, Jiha Moon’s work appears as a mash-up of high-and-low brow cultural references. Upon further inspection, slyly ironic and humorous references emerge that are satirically filtered by the artist, who reminds us that our preconceived notion of “other” is not a true manifestation of actual identity.

This exhibition is organized by the Taubman Museum of Art in collaboration with the Halsey Institute and curated by Amy G. Moorefield, Deputy Director of Exhibition and Collections at the Taubman Museum of Art, and Mark Sloan, Director and Chief Curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art with special assistance from Andrea Pollan, Curator’s Office, Washington, D.C.; Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia; and Ryan Lee Gallery, New York, New York.

IN-GALLERY GUIDES

The Halsey Institute commissioned Lilly Wei to write an essay on Jiha Moon’s work. This essay is available to visitors in an educational brochure. In addition, Jiha Moon has written descriptions of her pieces in the exhibition. These statements are printed in an exhibition guide that visitors can browse through in the gallery.

ABOUT JIHA MOON

Born and raised in Daegu, Korea, Jiha Moon lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Korea University in Seoul, Korea. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Asia Society, New York City, New York; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia; and the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at notable museums nationwide including at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee; and the Weatherspoon Museum of Art, Greensboro, North Carolina. She has been the recipient of several residencies including Omi International Arts Center, Ghent, New York; the Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire. In 2011, Moon was the recipient of a prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Painter and Sculpture grant. She is represented by Curator’s Office in Washington, D.C., Saltworks Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, and Ryan Lee Gallery in New York, New York.

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Please save the date for the opening reception of Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here.

Preview & Opening Reception
Friday, June 29, 2018

Gallery Talk with Jiha Moon
5:30 – 6:30 pm

Opening Reception
6:30 – 8:30 pm

Free for members | $10 for Guests
Tickets » http://www.bit.ly/jihamoon

Family Workshop with Jiha Moon
Saturday, June 30
1 – 3 pm
Free with regular paid admission or Mennello Museum Membership
Bring the entire family to meet artist on exhibit, Jiha Moon! She will lead a workshop inspired by her new tal series. You will make your very own paper Korean Folk Mask. Explore the exhibit with Moon to see her norigae and paintings where a mash-up of Korean symbols meet Southern American iconography. Don’t worry if you’re a beginner, most everybody’s mad here.

First Friday Tour
Friday, June 1, July 6, August 3
11 – 11:45 am
Free tour with the Executive Director or Associate Curator of Education with regular paid admission or Mennello Museum Membership

Free Family Funday
Sunday, June 10, July 8, August 12
12 – 2:30 pm

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PLEASE NOTE THE BELOW REQUIRED CREDITS FOR IMAGES:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/14mfioehv58oid7/AABxucauGOwb6f_5h5czHC5ba?dl=0

Images:

Jiha Moon,  Most Everyone’s Mad Here, 2015, ink and acrylic on Hanji mounted on canvas

Peach Mask II, 2013, ink and acrylic on Hanji paper, 38 inches x 38.5 inches, courtesy of the artist.

Jiha Moon, Letter Shin (Yellow), 2014, cyanotype, ink and acrylic, rhinestones on paper, 25 x 25 inches.

Jiha Moon, Big Pennsylvania Dutch Korean Painting, 2011, ink and acrylic, fabric, stickers, embroidery patches on Hanji, 57 x 64 inches.

Courtesy of Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art.

Courtesy of Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art.

Courtesy of Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art.

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About the Museum
The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society.  In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices.

The museum’s unique mission enhances our cultural offerings by offering all in our community the opportunity to learn, engage, and come together in a welcoming environment that explores broader notions of American Art and the role museums have in our changing society.

MISSION
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret our outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Mennello Museum of American Art also seeks to enrich the public through temporary exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and publications that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American art and artists across a broad range of disciplines to reflect the rich diversity of American art, while making it accessible to all. The Museum also shares extraordinary works of American art donated by our founders, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and Michael A. Mennello.

 VISION
The vision of the Mennello Museum of American Art is to be a distinguished and thriving institution that will build on its City of Orlando base of support through strong board and community relationships resulting in an improved operating environment and a reputation for being a local and national treasure.

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

Website  ·  Facebook  ·  Instagram  ·  Twitter

                        

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Download this Press Release.

 

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO June 25, 2018.

The Mennello Museum of American Art is calling for artists currently enrolled in high school (or recently graduated seniors) to present two or three-dimensional artworks that explore the theme of our future, which could include representations of the artist’s thoughts, fears, and hopes for individuals, communities, or their global world. The artist can imagine a time in the not-so-distant to the remote future, considering how societies may change, how communities may interact, and how spaces might evolve.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

AMERICAN YOUTH: OUR FUTURE is an exhibition to support and foster the creativity of Orlando’s talented teen artists. In this exhibition’s second year, The Mennello Museum of American Art will be holding a juried art show with a Call for Art open to all Orange and Seminole County high schoolers as part of our increasingly expansive, diverse, and inclusive exhibition program. AMERICAN YOUTH: OUR FUTURE aspires to empower rising artists and give them a space to engage in conversations through their art with our community.

HOW TO APPLY

Young artists are encouraged to fill out the  application linked below and submit a .jpg image of their pieces by June 25, 2018, at 5 p.m. for this juried exhibition. Email the application and image(s) to kpagemennello@gmail.com.

There is a limit of three entries per artist, please be sure to submit the work that best fits the theme and your talents. You will be notified by email by June 25, 2018, if your work is selected for exhibit.

APPLICATION

Download American Youth Application 2018

 

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Questions?
Contact Katherine Page-Navarro at kpagemennello@gmail.com

Orlando, FL — April 12, 2018

Grab your pups and meet us for a FIESTA in the Mennello Museum Sculpture Garden! We’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo with Yappy Hour. The event will be held on May 5, 2018, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the museum’s lakeside sculpture garden (900 E. Princeton St.).

Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director states, “The Pet Membership program is part of our mission to reach multiple audiences and provide several access points to art, culture, and nature. Our sculpture garden on Lake Formosa is a welcoming place for the community to gather together with their pets, enjoy local food and beverage, and immerse themselves in the museum experience.”

Sip on sangria and margaritas while the pups enjoy freshly made chips and dip provided by Rick’s Dog Deli — all while overlooking beautiful Lake Formosa. We’ll also have Cinco de Mayo themed art projects and photo booth station with props for you and your pups. FREE margaritas and sangria for Pet Members!

Admission per person:
Pet Members: FREE (includes unlimited free drinks and dog treats)
Non-Pet Member: $5 Early Bird Ticket (Price increase April 23: $10)
(Additional $ for drinks and dog treats)
Purchase tickets: https://squ.re/2EEiBdj

All tickets include a free dog bandana.

Learn more about the Mennello Museum’s Pet Membership program at www.mennellomuseum.org/pet.

Interested in partnering with us? Contact Annelizabeth Atie at annelizabeth.atie@cityoforlando.net or 407.246.4278 ext.4860.

 

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IMAGES: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xr1jdmzi7v80z2y/AACoZU9OvQ6HsoqbcOW091ita?dl=0

 

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ABOUT PET MEMBERSHIP

The Mennello Museum of American Art is raising awareness for our Marilyn L. Mennello Sculpture Garden, and offering your pet (dog, cat, bird) the unique opportunity to become a Mennello Museum Pet Member! Enjoy the art (including many pet-themed sculptures) in our lakeside Sculpture Garden, and attend events with other pets and pet parents who share the same interest in supporting American Art and the Mennello Museum’s educational initiatives.

The Mennello Museum has some fantastic pet events planned in our Sculpture Garden including Yappy Hour, Howl’ O Woof at the Mennello, Brunch with your Pup and many more in the works!

Our membership program gives you and your pet special access to benefits that are unique to the Central Florida community:

• One year of FREE admission to pet-friendly events at the Mennello Museum
• A 10% discount to many local pet businesses. Visit our website to see all participating businesses (www.mennellomuseum.org/pet)
• Your best friend’s photo featured on our website
• Free dog bag dispenser from Popular Pup
• One year free subscription to The New Barker the first 75 Pet Members

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

• Four-Legged Friend — $25
• Feathery Friend — $25

PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES
Pet Members enjoy a 10% discount to local pet businesses. See all of our participating businesses at https://www.mennellomuseum.org/participating-businesses/

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About the Museum
The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society.  In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices. 

On view now through June 10, 2018, When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan.

View all of our upcoming events.

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

Website  ·  Facebook  ·  Instagram  ·  Twitter

                        

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Download this Press Release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113

Orlando, FL — April 5, 2018

The Mennello Museum of American Art is hosting Day of Art in June, and we invite elementary, middle, and high school students to explore art and be artful at the museum!

We invite young artists to step inside the museum for a full day of inspiring art projects. The museum is all yours as you learn new methods and make new friends!

Elementary Day of Art will be held on Monday, June 4, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Elementary students will create large-scale abstract sculptures, paint with watercolors and oil pastels and learn how to draw the world around them. Students will be led by art teacher extraordinaire, Melissa Rudge.  Rudge is a visual arts teacher with Orange County Public Schools. She has been working in the arts industry for seven years. Before moving to Orlando, she served the Peace Corps as an art teacher in Ghana.

Middle and High School Day of Art will be held on Monday, June 11, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Middle and High School students will be inspired to use their environment to create mixed media prints, kinetic sculptures, and acrylic landscapes. Students will also create poetry and trade artist cards with new friends inspired by the environment. Lessons will be led by teaching artist and educator, Jolie Spelman. Spelman is currently a Fine Arts and Performing Arts teacher at Bishop Moore Catholic High in Orlando. She exhibits her work locally and teaches adult and children’s art workshops.

Day of Art at the Mennello Museum is open to elementary, middle and high school students. Registration is open now and space is limited. Early registration is encouraged.

Educational programming at the Mennello Museum of American Art delivers access to captivating American art of all genres through permanent collections, as well as renowned curated and temporary exhibitions. In addition to our most popular program, Free Family Funday, the museum brings art studies that present the permanent collection of outstanding Earl Cunningham paintings directly into the classroom through Art Trunks on The Go: Safe Place Space. The Mennello Museum of American art also works closely with Women in the Arts for Community School of the Arts at The Museum, hosts art-focused film screenings, and is launching a summer program for elementary, middle and high school students this year, Day of Art. Whether through lectures given by world-renowned and established artists the likes of Alice Aycock and Bo Bartlett, docent-guided tours for school-aged groups or seniors, or Boy and Girl Scout badge fulfillments with arts projects, the  Museum’s workshops and special programming are designed to make personal connections to exhibitions and exploration of artistic methods. We endeavor to engage all individuals who come through the doors in participatory learning of the visual arts. We seek to advance their confidence in discussions around the exhibitions and inspire creativity in personal life and art making.

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 Download Logo: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n8chfc6xp2ihxq2/AADZwjdhDnnqW_n8zebKBfQYa?dl=0

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About the Museum
The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society.  In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices.

The museum’s unique mission enhances our cultural offerings by offering all in our community the opportunity to learn, engage, and come together in a welcoming environment that explores broader notions of American Art and the role museums have in our changing society.

MISSION
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret our outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Mennello Museum of American Art also seeks to enrich the public through temporary exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and publications that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American art and artists across a broad range of disciplines to reflect the rich diversity of American art, while making it accessible to all. The Museum also shares extraordinary works of American art donated by our founders, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and Michael A. Mennello.

 VISION
The vision of the Mennello Museum of American Art is to be a distinguished and thriving institution that will build on its City of Orlando base of support through strong board and community relationships resulting in an improved operating environment and a reputation for being a local and national treasure.

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

Website  ·  Facebook  ·  Instagram  ·  Twitter

                        

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Download this Press Release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113

Orlando, FL — March 5, 2018

The Mennello Museum receives its largest gift ever from founder Michael A. Mennello — 14 Paintings & 5 Sculptures including 20 American Impressionist Paintings on Permanent Loan. Mayor Buddy Dyer announces support for museum expansion.

The Mennello Museum of American Art is receiving its largest gift in the museum’s history from museum founder Michael A. Mennello, Winter Park collector, businessman, and philanthropist. Michael A. Mennello has promised extraordinary gifts of art from his private collection to the museum.  This generous gift of 14 paintings and 5 sculptures includes work by world-renowned American artists that greatly enhance the permanent collection of the museum with examples of the finest work by critical American artists associated with the Ashcan School of Art, the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Arts Students League, New York.

The gift, which will be gifted May 1, 2018 on what would be Marilyn L. Mennello’s 93^rd Birthday,  includes four significant works by John Sloan, three paintings by George Wesley Bellows, two paintings by George Luks, and beautiful single works by John White Alexander, Louis Ritman, Robert Henri, and Josephine (Jo) Hopper. The paintings were recently included in exhibitions at the Mennello Museum of American Art (2017) and Orlando Museum of Art (2018).

The gift includes four exceptional bronze sculptures by renowned contemporary artist Deborah Butterfield, the beloved horse sculptures, will honor founder Marilyn L. Mennello as they are beloved in great museums throughout the United States.  Also included is Madam Lachaise, 1925, a bronze figurative sculpture by Gaston Lachaise an early 20^th century artist most noted for his female nudes and beautiful bronze expressions.

In addition, Michael Mennello is sharing over 20 examples of early 20^th Century painting and seminal works from his American Impressionist Collection.  Masterpieces include work by renowned artists: Guy Carlton Wiggins, Lilla Cabot Perry, Pauline Lennards Palmer, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Henry Salem Hubbell, Louis Ritman, among others.  One special highlight three Henry Salem Hubbell including his famous work Building of the House, 1930 that was featured at City Hall’s Rotunda for years.  This gift, of more than $8,750,000.00 is appraised by Debra Force Fine Art, LLC, New York.

With this gift, Mayor Dyer announced his support for an extended term agreement with the museum from 30 consecutive years to 60 (from 2028 to 2058) and support plans with a commitment to allow for Museum expansion on adjacent city-owned land that would allow the current museum size to quadruple.  To provide sustained support in the expanded museum Michael A. Mennello has established the Michael A. and The Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello Foundation  where posthumously, the Foundation will contribute 70% of it’s annual distributions to the Mennello Museum of American Art to further support the Museum’s art and education programming and in his planned giving has Bequest of a $1,000,000 donation to the Friends of Mennello Museum of American Art, Inc. from Michael A. Mennello posthumously to also be used for advancing Museum programming.

Founder Michael A. Mennello is overjoyed with this agreement with the City of Orlando and states: “This is my dream come true, one 20 years in the making.  I am grateful for the visionary Mayor Buddy Dyer for helping me fulfill my dear Marilyn’s dream of a creating a museum with our treasured art collection and share it in perpetuity with the City of Orlando.  The greatest joy of my life was assembling this fine collection of American art with Marilyn – and now I entrust it to the museum for generations to come.”

He continues: “With the blessing of our Mayor Buddy Dyer, we now have reached a new level of culture that will be appreciated and enhanced by all.”

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer expressed his appreciation for this generous donation: “Mr. Mennello’s vision and generosity is a shining example of the philanthropy our cultural institutions rely on to ensure sustainability and maintain the legacy. The City of Orlando and the Mennello Museum is truly grateful for this demonstration of support.”  Mayor Dyer continues with the statement:

For two decades the Mennello Museum of American Art’s steadfast commitment to presenting important art and educating the public while being accessible to all has been undeniable. Despite its modest size, it’s a remarkable institution that truly enriches Orlando’s cultural landscape through diverse programs, an enviable permanent collection, and wonderfully impactful visiting exhibitions. To say the Mennello Museum is a beloved community asset is an understatement.

The Mennello Museum is now poised to begin an exciting, new trajectory where big, innovative ideas are embraced and a visionary expansion will yield boundless potential for its future. The opportunity before us cannot be squandered; it is imperative we focus on growth and keeping this jewel relevant for generations to come. I wholeheartedly support this effort and, like so many others, know that creativity will continue to flourish along this path.

Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director, shares:

It is an exciting time to be in Orlando and be part of the cultural growth our community is experiencing across The City Beautiful.  The Mennello Museum of American Art is a treasured Orlando institution and I look forward to its dynamic and stable future as we work hard to define what a museum of American Art can be in the early 21st century.  We aim to honor our past and our founders while look to ways to remain relevant, assessable, enjoyable, and sustainable as one of the healthiest public-private partnerships in our community.

With the visionary leadership of Mayor Dyer, the museum is in a position to consider improving our current facilities and possibly building a new facility on the adjacent land. This possibility, with appropriate support, could help assure that the Mennello Museum of American Art has a bright future and continues to offers innovative and timely exhibitions, exciting and newly expanded community engagement initiatives, and include current and future collection development. 

Michael Mennello’s generous gift is an exciting lead gift that I hope puts us on a strong path to advancement as such an expansion, conceptual and physical, is timely in the museum’s life cycle and will place us where we need to be as one of Orlando’s strongest cultural assets.

 

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PLEASE NOTE THE BELOW REQUIRED CREDITS FOR IMAGES:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v4ok0i4sf3za36d/AAD8WcTocm2EoAd_GIV8jfEHa?dl=0

 

John Sloan, Roof Chats, 1944/1950, tempera and oil varnish on panel, 16 x20 inches.
Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, 2018. Gift of Michael A. Mennello.

George Luks, The Red Dress, 1918/1920, oil on canvas, 27 x 22 inches.
Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, 2018. Gift of Michael A. Mennello.

George Wesley Bellows, Coopers Lake, Woodstock, 1924, oil on panel, 30 3/8 x 44 3/8 inches.
Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, 2018. Gift of Michael A. Mennello.

George Wesley Bellows, The Black House, 1924, oil on panel, 16 ½ x 24 inches. (at Mr. Mennello’s home).
Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, 2018. Gift of Michael A. Mennello.

John White Alexander, Portrait of Mrs. Ashton Potter, 1910-1913, oil on canvas, 95 x 55 inches.
Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, 2018. Gift of Michael A. Mennello.

George Wesley Bellows, Portrait of Laura, 1922, oil on panel, 40 x 32 inches.
Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, 2018. Gift of Michael A. Mennello.

Robert Henri, Ann of Achill, 1913, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches.
Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, 2018. Gift of Michael A. Mennello.

 

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About the Museum
The Mennello Museum of American Art, established in November 1998, is owned and operated by the City of Orlando. This intimate cultural gem located in Loch Haven Cultural Park, is just minutes from downtown Orlando, and is housed in what was once the private home of Howard Phillips, son of local philanthropist Dr. P. Phillips. Among The Mennello Museum’s many treasures is the largest permanent collection of paintings by self-taught artist Earl Cunningham (1893-1977), which was generously donated from the collection of Michael A. Mennello and Marilyn Logsdon Mennello.

The museum’s unique mission enhances our cultural offerings by offering all in our community the opportunity to learn, engage, and come together in a welcoming environment that explores broader notions of American Art and the role museums have in our changing society.

Over the past year, the Mennello Museum has increased attendance to over 33,000 visitors, an increase of more than 5,000 visitors over the previous year and reflects the value our community places on one of Orlando’s cultural gems.  Mr. Mennello’s gift will help us to continue to fulfill our mission and honor founder the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and the many deep friendships in art she made.

MISSION
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret our outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Mennello Museum of American Art also seeks to enrich the public through temporary exhibitions, programs, educational initiatives, and publications that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American art and artists across a broad range of disciplines to reflect the rich diversity of American art, while making it accessible to all. The Museum also shares extraordinary works of American art donated by our founders, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello and Michael A. Mennello.

 VISION
The vision of the Mennello Museum of American Art is to be a distinguished and thriving institution that will build on its City of Orlando base of support through strong board and community relationships resulting in an improved operating environment and a reputation for being a local and national treasure.

 

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

mennellomuseum.org · facebook.com/mennellomuseum
instagram.com/mennellomuseum · twitter.com/mennellomuseum

                        

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Download this Press Release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113

Orlando, FL — February 9, 2018

The Mennello Museum of American Art is pleased to present the work of Julie Heffernan in an upcoming solo exhibition, When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan. The exhibition will be on view from March 23 through June 10, 2018.

Heffernan’s recent paintings create alternative habitats in response to environmental disaster and planetary excess. With rising waters, she imagines worlds in trees or on rafts in which undulating mattresses, tree boughs, and road signs guide the journey. Construction cones interrupt the landscape signaling places to stop, enter tiny interior worlds, and reflect on the human condition—its feckless activity, violence, failure, and redemption. Heffernan tends these alternative environments to safeguard bounties we cannot live without. In other moments, she names names and points fingers to those people and activities implicated in recent calamities of both the physical and socio-political environment. Intricately wrought, Heffernan’s paintings evoke the fantastical allegory of Hieronymus Bosch and the sublime of Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt.

Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director, states: “I am delighted with the opportunity to share the extraordinary paintings by renowned American artist Julie Heffernan, who has long revisited art history and cultural history to address urgent social, political, and environmental concerns in epic scenarios.  Heffernan’s work is provocative, lush, wondrous, and commanding as it lures, seduces, and warns with a prophetic and personal vision that yields a timely universality.  She considers the gaze, the female body, family, home and nature—and most, poignantly in this recent series—water.  This exhibition shares a powerful punch through beauty—a gift distinct to Heffernan’s visual vocabulary and large-scale execution as the micro merges with the macro in daunting other-world environs, yet as recognizable as our own, troubled, threatening, and urgent situation.” She continues, “I am pleased to present this work in Orlando, as we think about water in our own community especially after experiencing hurricane Irma and Maria and the lasting devastating effects on our community and environment.”

As an American painter, Heffernan’s work has been described by the writer Rebecca Solnit as “a new kind of history painting” in her essay entitled “Dandelion Clocks and Time Bombs” accompanying Heffernan’s exhibition Sky is Falling in 2013 and by the New Yorker as “ironic rococo surrealism with a social-satirical twist.”

Heffernan has exhibited widely for the past two decades. Selected exhibitions include those at The Korean Biennial (Korea), Weatherspoon Art Gallery (NC), Tampa Museum of Art (FL), Knoxville Museum Of Art (TN), Columbia Museum of Art (SC), Milwaukee Art Museum (WI), The New Museum (NY), The Norton Museum (FL), The American Academy of Arts And Letters (NY), Kohler Arts Center (WI), The Palmer Museum of Art (PA), National Academy of Art (NY), Mcnay Art Museum (TX), Herter Art Gallery (MA), Mint Museum (NC) and Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VA), and Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OK) among numerous others.

The exhibition, organized by the LSU Museum of Art, will travel throughout 2018, to venues including Scarfone/Hartley Gallery at The University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida; The Mennello Museum of American and Public Art, Orlando, Florida; Palmer Museum of Art at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

When the Water Rises is a collaboration between the LSU College of Art + Design and LSU Museum of Art. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog with essays by curator Courtney Taylor, art critic and writer Eleanor Heartney, and LSU Professor of Art Kelli Scott Kelley.

Heffernan received her MFA in Painting from Yale and a BFA from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Heffernan has received numerous grants including an NEA, NYFA, and Fullbright Fellowship and is in the collection of major museums including the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She is represented by P.P.O.W in New York and Catharine Clark in San Francisco. Heffernan is a Professor of Fine Arts at Montclair State University.

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Please save the date for the opening reception of When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan.

Preview & Opening Reception
Friday, March 23, 2018

Lecture & Tour with Julie Heffernan
5:30 – 6:30 pm

Opening Reception
6:30 – 8:30 pm

Free for members | $10 for Guests
Tickets » bit.ly/julieheffernan

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First Friday Tour
Friday, April 6, May 4 and June 1
11 – 11:45 am
Free tour with regular paid admission or Mennello Museum Membership

Free Family Funday
Sunday, April 8 and May 13
12 – 2:30 pm

Extended Hours & Movies at the Mennello
Grab a Hunk of Lightning – Dorothea Lange documentary
presented by filmmaker Dyanna Taylor
Friday, April 12
Extended Hours: 4:30 – 6 pm; Movie starts at 6 pm
Admission $5, Free for Mennello Museum Members

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Images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p6li0ohwb5v2skd/AAAbUX6aFphLLa1lZRZJqTsJa?dl=0

 

Julie Heffernan, Camp Bedlam, 2016, oil on canvas, 68 x 104 inches. Courtesy of Catharine Clark Gallery.

Julie Heffernan, Standing My Ground, 2016, oil on canvas, 68 x 66 inches. Courtesy of Catharine Clark Gallery.

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About the Museum
The Mennello Museum of American Art, owned and operated by the City of Orlando, is located on the beautiful shore of Lake Formosa in Orlando’s Loch Haven Cultural Park. The museum provides residents and visitors welcoming opportunities to understand and value creativity through innovative experiences with art further connecting it to nature and communal gathering. Our goal is to encourage creative and diverse experiences with art that nurtures audiences while reflecting the dynamic relationship between art and society.  In addition to housing the permanent collection of folk modernist Earl Cunningham, the museum presents temporary exhibitions that feature a broad range of American art from traditional to contemporary practices. 

On view through March 18, 2018, Grace Hartigan: 1960-1965, The Perry Collection and The Mennello Museum Invitational 2018.

View all of our upcoming events.

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

mennellomuseum.org · facebook.com/mennellomuseum
instagram.com/mennellomuseum · twitter.com/mennellomuseum

                        

The exhibitions and the Mennello Museum of American Art are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Download this Press Release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113