February 3–May 7, 2023
The Thomas R. Schiff Gallery (Gallery 234)
Ticketed. Free for Members.
Friends of Photography

How well do we know iconic American artist, Georgia O’Keeffe? Scholars have examined her paintings, home, library, letters, and even her clothes. Yet, despite O’Keeffe’s long and complex association with the American photographic avant garde, no previous exhibition has explored her work as a photographer.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Photographer presents nearly 100 photographs by the artist, together with a complementary selection of paintings and drawings. These works illuminate O’Keeffe’s use of the camera to further her modernist vision, showing how she embraced photography as a unique artistic practice and took ownership of her relationship with the medium.

Discover, for the first time, O’Keeffe’s eloquent and perceptive photographic vision.

Roberto Lugo (Puerto Rican-American, b. 1981) draws from his lived experience and deep knowledge of ceramic history to create works that elevate the stories of those historically absent from the decoration of extravagant examples of pottery. Lugo’s multicultural mashups often combine classic forms and patterns with elements of hip-hop.

“As a potter,” Lugo explains, “I aim to carry on the ceramic tradition in a manner that honors the culture and community I come from.”

Lugo was raised in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, an area marked by poverty, violence, and drug trafficking. At the age of 25, he enrolled in his first pottery class. Today, he leads the ceramic department at Temple University in Philadelphia, and his art resides in the collections of the most prestigious art institutions in the country, including the Cincinnati Art Museum. When he is not teaching or creating, Lugo returns to neighborhoods like Kensington with a potter’s wheel emblazoned with the words, “This machine kills hate.” Taking his art to the street, he uses clay and his wheel to teach others how to throw pots, break down cultural and social biases, and encourage the possibility that anyone can choose and achieve their dreams.

Roberto Lugo: Hi-Def Archives features recent works by Lugo and, for a limited time, the artist himself. For two weeks Lugo will work in residency at the museum, creating ceramics in a gallery adjacent to the display of his finished works. Lugo intends the exhibition to “be both an homage to the village that raised me up and the legacy of Rookwood Pottery.” Showing his work in conversation with selections from the museum’s Rookwood collection, Lugo examines intersections of community, place, and identity, celebrating the rich craft history of Cincinnati while simultaneously recontextualizing the impact of ceramics as contemporary cultural objects that honor all of us.

Friday, March 24, 2023 at 5–9 p.m.

Join us for our monthly Art After Dark series one week earlier than usual! Featuring our artist-in-residence Roberto Lugo, this month’s event will also include live entertainment, cash bars, food for purchase and free admission to exhibitions Roberto Lugo: Hi-Def Archives and Georgia O’Keeffe, Photographer. #ArtAfterDarkCincy

Free admission. Reservations not required. Parking is limited. Please arrive early or consider using a rideshare service.

To request accessibility accommodations, please email access@cincyart.org at least two weeks before the event.

Art After Dark is sponsored by Health Carousel and PNC.

Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 6–8:30 p.m.

$5 General Public, Free for Teachers & College Students
Registration required.

Georgia O’Keeffe, the Power of Place & the Creative Ecosystem considers the work of the multidisciplinary conceptualist, Michael Thompson, and the renowned American modernist, Georgia O'Keeffe. Thompson reflects on the interconnection between the two as they construct, capture, and are influenced by their environments. The keynote presentation will discuss the power of place and space by navigating the practices of the two artists as they exist within a creative ecosystem, interacting with both the built and natural worlds as integral parts of their creative identity.

Following the keynote, there will be a community panel featuring artist Michael Thompson, poet Sherry Cook Stanforth, as well as photographer Asa Featherstone. We will end the evening with a Meet & Greet featuring the panelists, and their work will be available for purchase.

Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 7 p.m.

Free. Reservations not required. Seating is first come, first served. Please enter through the DeWitt entrance.

Join us to hear personal reflections on Georgia O’Keeffe from people who spent time with the artist during her lifetime.

Program
Memories of Miss O’Keeffe, directed by Chris Eyre, 2017. 25 minutes
Generations of the Lopez family share intimate reflections on their time working for Georgia O’Keeffe in her northern New Mexico home. Directed by Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals, Skinwalkers) and produced by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, this short documentary conveys the sense of meaningful connections over time.

Carol S. Merrill: Weekends with O’Keeffe
Carol Merrill met Georgia O’Keeffe for an afternoon visit in August 1973. That afternoon led to seven years of weekends, when Merrill served as librarian, secretary, cook, nurse, and companion to the artist. As O’Keeffe’s eyesight faltered, she often asked Merrill to read aloud or to describe the play of light and shadow in the surrounding landscape. This extraordinary experience led to her two books published in 1996 and 2011: O’Keeffe, Days in a Life and Weekends with O’Keeffe.

Want to learn more about artwork from your personal collection? One of the many benefits of membership is an invitation to our Consult-a-Curator event, which provides the opportunity to receive informed opinions on your art by our professional curatorial or conservation staff. Learn more about Consult-a-Curator.

We are truly grateful for your support of the Cincinnati Art Museum and hope that you take advantage of this membership benefit.

This event is free for Members. Not a member? Not a problem. It is easy to become a member here! For questions or more information, please contact the Membership Department at membership@cincyart.org.