The Gregory Allicar Museum of Art (GAMA) celebrates recent donations of modern and contemporary photography to the museum’s permanent collection in Widening the Lens: New Gifts of Photography. Opening Oct. 16, the new exhibition showcases 11 artists whose works exemplify the breadth and depth of gifts lately presented by various donors. Widening the Lens is free to the public and will be on display in GAMA’s Works on Paper Collection gallery until Dec. 19.
The exhibition spotlights a representative selection of 166 total photographs given to the Gregory Allicar by collectors in late 2020. Each gift was facilitated by Summit Art Advisory — part of Summit Fine Art Services, LLC. — based in Kearny, New Jersey. The art group specializes in collections management, including art handling and database creation, and connects collectors with dealers, galleries and museums around the country.
“The recent gifts given by this extraordinarily generous group of donors are truly transformative for the museum’s holdings,” said GAMA Director and Chief Curator Lynn Boland. “This exhibition will be the first of many to draw on this collection of world-class photographs.”
Widening the Lens features a broad range of styles and subjects by artists from three countries, with work spanning the 1950s through the 21st century. Walter Iooss’ award-winning sports photography shows the emotion and athleticism of Billie Jean King in 1979 and Michael Jordan in 1992, while Joyce Tenneson’s ethereal landscapes from 2016 focus the lens on trees and animals. Other acclaimed photographers include Donna Ferrato and Peter Turnley, both of whom have documented the human condition in groundbreaking photojournalism over the decades. Ferrato’s 1980s-’90s series and book, “Living with the Enemy,” stares down the consequences of domestic violence as seen in 1st Safe Night Philadelphia Shelter Women Against Abuse (1986). Similarly, Turnley documents Nelson Mandela just after his release from prison in 1990 and covers immigration on the Texas-Mexico border in 2006.
Displayed alongside Ferrato, Iooss, Tenneson and Turnley, are Kristin Capp, Larry Fink, Sally Gall, Ralph Gibson, Alen MacWeeney, Raphael Mazzucco and David Seltzer. The thematic scope of works in Widening the Lens: New Gifts of Photography is a dynamic look at these recent gifts, and the exhibition ultimately honors the support and generosity of GAMA’s community.
Major support for Widening the Lens is provided by the FUNd Endowment at Colorado State University, Colorado Creative Industries, the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund and the Lilla B. Morgan Memorial Endowment, a premier supporter of arts and culture at CSU.
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GREGORY ALLICAR MUSEUM OF ART invites individuals to engage with art and each other to inspire fresh perspectives and wonder. The museum is a catalyst for visual literacy and critical thinking that instills a passion for learning. For updated museum information, go to www.artmuseum.colostate.edu.
