October 21, 2020

Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering at Chrysler Museum of Art, October 11, 2020 – January 3, 2021

“The Chrysler Museum of Art encourages everyone to consider the bonds between us with Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering.  On view at the Museum and in outdoor locations in Norfolk, the exhibition features more than 100 artworks drawn from the Chrysler’s collection and digital photography submitted by community members. Visitors will see many works that are rarely on view and masterpieces from all areas of the collection, including photography, painting, sculpture and installation works.  Four themes—Together in Celebration, Together in Purpose, Together in Justice, and Together in Love—will highlight the many ways artists examine the joys and complexities of ‘coming together’ and showcase how communities are linked by activities, celebrations, demonstrations, love and family.

Come Together, Right Now was conceived in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when people grappled with the new restrictions spawned by social distancing while also uniting in a struggle to control the devastating disease. The public killings of Black and brown people intensified the sense of separation and division and the need to create community as we address uncomfortable but necessary questions about racism and intolerance and chart the course toward an inclusive future. Artwork reminds us of the value of community and prompts us to consider creative solutions to the impediments we face as we work to come together. It also helps us to discover all that we can learn right now from self-examination and each other through our through our common experiences, causes, celebrations and struggles.” — Chrysler Museum of Art

Doris Ulmann (American, 1882–1934). The Preacher’s Family, South
Carolina, ca. 1929–1931. Platinum print. Museum purchase.
Philip Evergood (1901-1973). Music, 1933, revised 1959. Oil on canvas. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
in memory of Jack Forker Chrysler.
Ernest C. Withers (American, 1922-2007). Big Ella, Club Paradise, Memphis,
Tennessee, 1960s, printed ca. 2000. Gelatin silver print. Gifts of Ernest
C. Withers and Panopticon Gallery © Estate of Ernest C. Withers and
Panopticon Gallery of Photography, Boston, MA.
Pierre Daura (American (born Spain), 1896 – 1976). Baseball,
ca. 1939-55. Oil on board. Gift of Martha Randolph Daura
© Daura Estate.
Marilyn Nance (American, b. 1953). Three Placards (Elijah Muhammad, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X),
June 14, 1986. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Joyce F. and Robert B. Menschel © Marilyn Nance.
Ken Heyman (American, born 1930.) Israel (Closeup of Men Holding Hands), 1965. Gelatin silver print.
Gift of Dr. Donald and Alice Lappe © Ken Heyman.
Mark Markov-Grinberg (Russian, 1907-2003). Happy Maternity,
Stavropol Territory, 1935, printed later. Gelatin silver print. Gift of
Gary Ginsberg and Susanna Aaron © Mark Markov-Grinberg.
David A. Douglas (American, b.1958). Portrait of M.K. and Scout, 2005.
Mixed media on panel. Gift of the artist in memory of K.D. Baker
© David A. Douglas
Robert Mapplethorpe (American, 1946 – 1989). Patti Smith (Neckbrace),
New York. 1977. Gelatin silver print. Gift of the artist
© The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, Inc.
Bob Lerner (American, 1926 – 2019). Candle Vendor, Cuzco, Peru.
Date: 1961, printed 2002. Inkjet print.
Gift of the artist © Chrysler Museum of Art.
Romare Bearden (American, 1911-1988). Tidings, ca. 1970. Screenprint on
wove paper. Museum collection.

“As many have faced unprecedented isolation this year and grappled with social distancing, we believe the time is perfect to celebrate the most powerful things that draw us together. Images of love, dancing, making music and working together will lift visitors’ spirits and inspire them to reflect,” said Lloyd DeWitt, Ph.D., the Chrysler Museum’s Chief Curator and Irene Leache Curator of European Art.

Images courtesy Chrysler Museum of Art.