past exhibition
The Body in Art: From the Spiritual to the Sensual
April 1 to September 12, 2021
Art has long used the human body to express universal themes – from spiritual beliefs to love and passion, and finally to a sense of our own mortality. This exhibition explores the creative ways artists have shown bodies of all types, ages, genders, and races to capture sometimes complex emotions and ideas.
The nude – the naked body in all its wonders and flaws – has long been a preoccupation of artists. The exhibition explores a wide variety of representations of the body, drawn from the Currier Museum’s collection. We connect contemporary works of art to historical images from the Renaissance to the 19th century. This exhibition encourages viewers to understand how art has depicted different types of bodies across history.
More:
Have you just visited the exhibition and would like to participate in the in-gallery response wall? Add your responses to the questions at the links below. An educator will add your responses to the gallery.
Question 1 (Jonathan Lyndon Chase, clap clap clap clap, 2017)
Question 2 (Hyman Bloom, Cadaver on Table, 1953)
Question 3 (Hans Otto Orlowski, Die Stolze (The Proud One), 1931)
Question 4 (Italian, Christ at the Column, 1490s)
Join Currier Museum Director Alan Chong on a walk through of the exciting new exhibition, The Body in Art: From the Spiritual to Sensual. Then plan your visit to the show (on view until September 2021).
Silvio Cosini
Italian, about 1495–after 1549
The Flaying of Marsyas, 1533
marble, 28 3/4 x 23 5/8 x 2 3/4 in. (73 x 60 x 7 cm)
Henry Melville Fuller Fund, 2020.4
painted terracotta with glass eyes, 21 1/2 in. (55 cm)
The Henry Melville Fuller Acquisition Fund, 2016.35
Nan Goldin
American, 1953–
Kenny Putting on Make-up, Boston, 1973
cibachrome print, 13 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. (34 x 22 cm)
Print Fund, 2020.1
© Nan Goldin
Dolly Parton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York
1977
cibachrome print
14 x 9 1/2 in. (35.56 x 24.13 cm)
Henry Melville Fuller Fund
Lombard School
Christ at the Column, about 1500
oil on panel, 25 x 16 3/4 in. (63 x 42 cm)
Henry Melville Fuller Fund, 2020.27
upcoming exhibitions
past exhibitions
Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.
artist in residence
Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.
Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.
Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications
Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.