In the Gold, Schaenen, Moak, and Class of 1953 Galleries, Floor 2L
Ever since a campus museum was established, faculty in Cornell’s Department of Art have been invited to exhibit work every few years, providing an opportunity for both the university community and the broader public to reflect on the relationship between education and practice. In this iteration of the exhibition, each faculty member has selected a piece from the Johnson Museum’s permanent collection to pair with their own contribution, demonstrating how many other makers, collections, and encounters exist alongside an artist’s own work.
In preparation, artists and the curator met for studio visits and looked at the collections—finding artworks with deep spiritual weight, artworks that made us laugh, artworks with gestural brushstrokes and precise stencil technique. In these and more, we found examples we want students to see and learn from.
Throughout the exhibition, there are works by artists who have influenced faculty across their careers as well as resonances that were discovered only through this collaboration. Some faculty have even changed or made new artwork in response to their chosen collection pairing. We hope you too find old favorites and new connections alike that open paths of experimentation, inspiration, and questioning.
Work by Michael Ashkin, Matt Bollinger, Leslie Brack, Mark Anthony Brown Jr., Oscar Rene Cornejo, Christine Elfman, Julianne Hunter, Kyle Bellucci Johanson, Carla Liesching, Leeza Meksin, Elisabeth Meyer, Nicholas Muellner, Carl Ostendarp, Maria Park, Jen de los Reyes, Pauline Shongov, and Paulina Velázquez Solís is currently on view on Floor 2L. Work by Paul Ramírez Jonas can be found in the Appel Lobby, and an audio installation by Keith Obadike is experienced outside the Museum building.
This exhibition was organized by Annie Abernathy, curatorial assistant at the Johnson Museum, and supported in part by the Mary Hyde Field Endowment.
Photo of Cornell Art Faculty 2024: Emily Vo ’25