ODU and Chrysler Museum Partnership brings 'Making and Meaning' to Gordon Art Galleries

May 31, 2013

"Untitled (Block and Strip Quilt)" by Loretta Pettway "The Wedding Night" by Benjamin C. Gladding

Old Dominion University is partnering with the Chrysler Museum of Art to bring to ODU's Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries a summer exhibition of paintings, prints, photos and sculptures from Europe and America that date from the 19th century to today.

"Making and Meaning: Selections from the Chrysler Museum of Art Collection" opens Saturday, June 1, and remains on view through Aug. 11 at the Gordon Art Galleries, 4509 Monarch Way in Norfolk. The exhibition is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.

The public is invited to an exhibition reception from 7-9 p.m. Friday, June 14, at the Gordon Art Galleries. Throughout the exhibition run, Chrysler Museum gallery hosts will be on hand to answer visitors' questions about the artwork.

Making and Meaning is curated by ODU art historian and assistant professor Vittorio Colaizzi, and includes more than 30 works from the Chrysler Collection while the museum is closed for a major renovation and expansion. The show focuses on the roles of medium and technique, as well as subject matter, in creating an artwork's meaning, and features both renowned and lesser-known artists, as well as some atypical works by familiar names. Among the artists represented are Sally Mann, Alexander Rodchenko, Vija Celmins, Thomas Cole and Larry Clark. The selections explore "how the presence or absence of traces of the hand contribute to the communication of meaning," says Fred Bayersdorfer, assistant dean for the arts in ODU's College of Arts and Letters.

"Whether their primary feature is the manner in which the materials are put together, or the significance of pictured figures and objects, the artworks on display are intuitively arranged," Bayersdorfer said. "Familiar themes such as beauty, loss, exaltation and humor, apprehended through a variety of personal and cultural lenses, will encourage the viewer to find and invent connections across time and space."

"Making and Meaning is the latest chapter in the Chrysler's ongoing and ever-deepening partnership with Old Dominion-a partnership that has already produced great results for the university and the community," says Bill Hennessey, director of the Chrysler. "We are thrilled to be able to share key works from our collection with the Gordon Art Galleries for an exhibition that promises to be as thought-provoking as it is handsome."

ODU and the Gordon Art Galleries will again partner with the Chrysler Museum in the fall to present a complementary exhibition of Chrysler Collection works alongside artistic creations by the ODU studio art faculty.

For more information about Making and Meaning, visit the Chrysler Museum of Art website or call (757) 683-6271.

About Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University is Virginia's forward-focused research university with rigorous academics, an energetic residential community, entrepreneurial research and collaboration, and initiatives that contribute nearly $1 billion to the economy. As a part of ODU's College of Arts and Letters, the Gordon Art Galleries promotes the advancement of knowledge through research and scholarship in the arts and seeks to develop a respect for the dignity and worth of the individual, a capacity for critical reasoning and a genuine desire for learning in the campus and regional community. It fosters the extension of the boundaries of knowledge and is committed to the preservation and dissemination of a rich cultural heritage through exhibitions, lectures and seminars, classes, guided tours and special programs.

About the Chrysler Museum of Art

The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America's most distinguished mid-sized art museums with a world-class collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America, and a new Glass Studio. The Museum campus is located at 245 West Olney Road, in Norfolk. The Chrysler Museum is closed during 2013 for a major expansion, but has organized off-site exhibitions throughout the region. The Chrysler Museum Glass Studio and its two historic houses are open. The Glass Studio, located at 745 Duke St., Norfolk, is open Wednesday to Sunday with free glass demonstrations at noon. The Willoughby-Baylor House, 601 E. Freemason St., and the Moses Myers House, 323 E. Freemason St., Norfolk, are open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free at these venues. To learn more about the Chrysler Museum Roadshow exhibitions and regional events, visit chrysler.org or call (757) 664-6200.