An Exciting Reinstallation At NBMAA

In preparation for the unveiling of its big new wing this fall, the New Britain Museum of American Art has reinstalled all of its second-floor galleries. There are now dedicated spaces for surrealism, abstract expressionism, conceptualism, photorealism, pop art, photography, even “bad art.”

The galleries are filled with pieces owned by the museum from such leading lights as Andy Warhol, Andrew Wyeth, Man Ray, Louise Nevelson, Robert Indiana, Adolph Gottlieb, Kay Sage, Milton Avery, George Tooker and everyone’s favorite New Britain native, Sol LeWitt.

While it is invigorating to see work by the time-honored masters — many of the artworks haven’t been exhibited in a long time — the real glory of the reinstallation is in the large McKernan Gallery, which has been dedicated to 21st century art. Many of the works were bought by the museum from the artists in its long-running NEW/NOW series, or given to the museum by the artists.

There are only two paintings in the “Art Today: 2000-Present.” The rest of the works are photographs, glass, sculpture, mixed-media, computer imagery and collages. The exhibit offers a energetic array of styles and media, and the 40 works, installed side-by-side, point out a common thread in the NEW/NOW series that might not have been obvious in each artist’s individual show: its longtime dedication to presenting art that makes a social statement.

“We wanted NEW/NOW artists to have relevance for visitors, but at the same time to be rewarding,” said Doug Hyland, the director of the museum, who will depart in the fall after 15 years in the position.

Hung Liu’s “Relic 12” shows a bored woman with bound feet, a commentary on the limited role of women in traditional Chinese society. Another feminist statement is from Laila Essaydi’s “Converging Territories” photography series, an image of two women symbolically silenced by the customs of the Islamic world. Negar Akhami uses a different approach to highlight the challenges of living as a first-generation American with Middle Eastern roots in the post-Sept. 11 world. Akhami uses classical Persian art styles to depict life in New York City.

Gaby Trinkaus and Michael Salter both address the oversaturation of commercial imagery in contemporary society. Trinkaus created a collage depicting an aerial view of London by night, using images from advertisements for luxury goods. Salter contributed a collage made up of product icons, some of them real and some of them imagined.

Many of the artists view society through a prism of violence and hostility. Alexis Peskine’s “He Died For Us?” shows a lynched man constructed of nails, with a gold-leaf halo around his head. Roger Shimomura, who spent two years of his childhood in an internment camp for Japanese Americans, created “No Speakee English,” an image of a Japanese man and a Caucasian man looking at each other with suspicion. Sam Gibbons’ “Out of Death Springs a Fountain of Light” comments on the ubiquity of guns in video-game imagery.

Other commentary in the exhibit’s pieces is more lighthearted and esoteric. Nobu Fukui’s collage shows famous people, both fictional and real, isolated from each other in brightly colored bubbles, a statement on the fleeting nature of fame. Atta Kim’s extremely long exposure photo of Times Square — which renders the buildings perfectly but the people are amorphous smudges — is a musing on the impermanence of life.

Ed Freeman’s photograph focuses on an issue that has become more and more relevant every day: drought in California. His “Marina Motel” shows a rusty old building in an area that was once a lakeside resort, before the lake dried up.

Hyland pointed out that a lot of the NEW/NOW artists are immigrants, which would partially explain their dedication to statement art. “Our country does become a beacon for people who are oppressed,” he said. “They can have the freedom here to say what they want to say.”

In addition, the Low Illustration Gallery on the first floor has been re-hung, with selected items from the museum’s collection of illustration, including a fun array from its recently acquired donation of pulp-fiction artwork.

Hyland said the new wing, which will be unveiled this fall and will add 17,346 square feet of additional space, will house galleries focused on impressionism, realism, modernism and the museum’s famous set of Thomas Hart Benton murals.

The New Britain Museum of American Art, 56 Lexington St, New Britain. For hours and admission prices, call 860-229-0257 or visit nbmaa.org.