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Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation, on display through July 14 at the Williams College Museum of Art, visualizes what freedom looks like for Black Americans today and the legacy of the Civil War today and beyond. Photo: Bradley Wakoff.
M
arch and April enjoy the remnants of winter and the first signs of spring. They can be mysterious months, however. We’re never sure how long winter will last or if spring’s early appearance in some spots is to be believed. That’s why we love New England; she keeps us guessing. One thing is for certain—the ebb and flow of art is ceaseless and seasonless. The destinations on these pages announce several of the most interesting and anticipated exhibitions of the year. It’s the perfect time to plan spring and early summer travel.
Currier Museum of Art—Manchester, NH The Currier Museum of Art’s 2024 exhibitions begin with Kara Walker: Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), a touring exhibition
that showcases Walker’s art alongside the Winslow Homer illustrations that inspired it. As a young artist, Homer served as a war correspondent for Harper’s Magazine. His drawings of soldiers on the front lines of battle and civilians caught up in the war’s horrors became a visual history of the Civil War, and they were published after the war in the magazine’s 1866 two-volume anthology. Walker revisits these prints, utilizing her signature silhouettes to introduce new elements. She surfaces race and gender-based biases, highlights profound sociopolitical inequalities, and brings to the fore a silenced history of violence that complicates Homer’s initial narrative. Opening March 7, the Currier will present the work of French artist Raphaël Barontini (b. 1984) in an exhibition titled I live a journey of a thousand years. The exhibition
comprises about twenty works and is Barontini’s largest presentation to date at a U.S. institution. Closely following the commission titled We Could be Heroes at the Panthéon in Paris—part of the Carte blanche series organized by France’s National Monuments Center—the exhibition at the Currier features La Bataille de Vertières (2023) as its centerpiece, a monumental 65-foot-wide painting that first premiered inside the Panthéon and will be on view here in the U.S. for the first time.
Williams College Museum of Art— Williams, MA The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) creates and inspires opportunities for students, faculty, and the public to have meaningful experiences with art. New this spring is Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation, which visualizes March/April 2024 | Art New England 49