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The Momentary and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Unveil the 61 Artists to be Featured in State of the Art 2020

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will be closed Monday, May 13, to prepare for the visit of Antiques Roadshow. We will return to normal hours of operation Wednesday, May 15.

The Momentary and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art announced today that 61 artists have been selected for State of the Art 2020.  As part of opening the new contemporary art space, the Momentary, the exhibition will be on view at the Momentary and Crystal Bridges from February 22 through May 24, 2020, free for all visitors.

Lauren Haynes, curator of visual arts at the Momentary and curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges, is leading State of the Art 2020, along with Alejo Benedetti, assistant curator of contemporary art, Crystal Bridges and Allison Glenn, associate curator of contemporary art, Crystal Bridges. The team visited studios across the country, resulting in the selection of a diverse group of 61 artists, from varied backgrounds and at different points in their careers.

More than 100 artworks will be featured in State of the Art 2020— most created in the last three years. A number of artists are making site specific works in response to the interior architecture of both spaces as well as the histories of this region. At both the Momentary and Crystal Bridges, artwork will include paintings, sculpture, photography, video, performance, and mixed media.

State of the Art 2020 fits our vision for the Momentary and builds on some of what we’ve already done at Crystal Bridges–presenting contemporary artists who are making work that raise topics and important questions about this moment in time,” said Haynes. “As we traveled the US talking with artists, connections between their work and ideas began to emerge, which drove the selection of themes.”

The 61 individuals in State of the Art 2020 represent a cross-section of artists working today and their artwork will be organized into thematic sections including world-building: creating real and fictional spaces; sense of place: investigating ideas of home, family, immigration, and more; mapping: connections to and relationships with landscapes and power, and temporality: the concept of time and how we perceive it.

Artists Featured in State of the Art 2020: