ROUNDING THE CIRCLE THE MARY AND AL SHANDS COLLECTION OPENS MARCH 24 AT THE SPEED ART MUSEUM
Richard Deacon British, b. 1949 Before My Very Eyes #3, 1989, Galvanized steel The Mary Norton Shands and Alfred R. Shands III Art Collection Bequest Image credit: Bill Rough
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In a transformative addition to its collection, the Speed Art Museum has received a monumental bequest of contemporary art from the private collection of the late Alfred R. Shands III (1928-2021) and Mary Norton Shands (1930-2009). On March 24, more than 100 of those works, in addition to
other artworks gifted to arts institutions across Kentucky, will be presented in a major exhibition, Rounding the Circle: The Mary and Al Shands Collection. The exhibition, which runs through Aug. 26, is curated by Julien Robson, former curator of contemporary art at the Speed and a close friend of Al Shands. Robson served as curator of the Shands collection for more than 10 years and is now director of the Great Meadows Foundation. Ranging from paintings, prints and works on paper to ceramics and large-scale sculptures, the Mary and Al Shands Art Collection features notable works by leading contemporary artists