Art Museum to hold gallery discussion

Having once shocked the art realm in the early 20th century, Fauvism-styled artwork will make a comeback for the public to witness today at the IU Art Museum.

The Fauvism gallery discussion is a part of the museum’s exhibitions from 3 to 4 p.m. that won’t be displayed in the museum’s galleries but instead will be laid out on tables in one of the museum’s special viewing rooms on the third floor.

The one-hour exhibit was created and will be presented by Nannette Brewer, IU Art Museum’s Lucienne M. Glaubinger Curator of Works on Paper. Brewer selected the work that will be featured in the event and will be talking informally about the pieces to guests.

“The one-hour exhibitions are something I have been doing for a couple years now as a way of giving an opportunity for students and general public to see things that are not on view,” Brewer said. “Most museums, ours included, only have 5-10 percent of their collection on view.”

The gallery will feature a laid-out selection of prints and drawings by Fauvist artists such as Georges Rouault, Maurice de Vlaminck, André Derain, Raoul Dufy and Georges Braque. Brewer will discuss the artists’ style, organization and use of color for each of the pieces at the event.

“I decided to do Fauvism for the last gallery of the year because I wanted to honor Henri Matisse, who was an early leader of the Fauvism movement,” Brewer said. “We thought this would be a good way to address the topic of Fauvism with the various artwork the museum owns from other Fauvist artists.”

According to Brewer, Fauvism is classified as a loose group of early 20th century modern artists who chose to push the envelope with their work opposing the representational or realistic values that was represented in the impressionism art movement.

“Fauvism artwork is known for having an unnatural, strong color and shocking imagery with a sense of simplicity and abstraction,” Brewer said. “The artists of this genre were inspired by post-impressionism artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.”

To view the exhibit, visitors must meet at the third-floor office to sign in. No pre-registration is required, but space is limited, so admission is organized in a first-come, first-served basis.

“This is a drop-in opportunity done in a more flexible and simple matter to be more accessible for the general public,” Brewer said. “It is meant to be a slightly different event than a full-fledged gallery exhibition by having a viewing of the pieces on a table as opposed to being hung up behind glass at the galleries.”