In conjunction with Monochrome Multitudes, the Smart Museum of Art and University of Chicago partners present a quarter-long artist talk series.

Join Amanda Williams and other exhibiting artists as they consider the rich and sometimes idiosyncratic references and resonances in their own work, while also speaking to the histories of the monochrome and abstraction broadly conceived.

FREE, but space is limited. Advanced registration encouraged »

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Amanda Williams is a visual artist who, after graduating from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, trained as an architect at Cornell University and taught architecture at the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Her practice employs color as an operative means for drawing attention to the complex ways race informs how we assign value to the spaces we occupy. Williams’s installations, paintings and works on paper seek to inspire new ways of looking at the familiar and, in the process, raise questions about the state of urban space and citizenship in the United States of America. Williams has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2021), the Venice Architecture Biennale (2018) in the American Pavilion co-commissioned by the University of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2020), and at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, a public commission with Andres L. Hernandez (2017). She is on the Museum Design Team for the Obama Presidential Library Center. Monochrome Multitudes will feature her Color(ed) Theory suite of photographs, which the Smart Museum acquired soon after they were made. Williams was recently awarded a 2022 MacArthur Fellowship.

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This exhibition traces “the monochrome” as a fundamental if surprisingly expansive artistic practice. Revisiting classic modernist ideas about flatness, idealized form, and colors, Monochrome Multitudes opens up this seemingly reductive art to reveal its global resonance and creative possibilities while working toward a more expansive narrative of 20th and 21st century art.

Within the exhibition, art is presented in monochromatic groupings—rooms of blue, white, yellow, gray, black, and red works respectively—alternating with thematic sections where single colors engage concerns with the body, urban space, sound, and other topics. Switching between these two types of spaces, the exhibition suggests that works that look alike are often quite different, and that works that look different can share historical, thematic, or conceptual propositions. Throughout, Monochrome Multitudes engages North American art in a global dialogue and emphasizes the significance of multiple media ranging from weaving to wall-painting to video, and multiple materials including footballs, pantyhose, and Vinylite.

Artists

Monochrome Multitudes features works by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Mary Abbott, Josef Albers, Alphonse Allais, Lynda Benglis, Ernő Berda, Mark Bradford, Alexander Calder, Enrico Castellani, Alan Cohen, Bethany Collins, Barbara Crane, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jaime Davidovich, Walter De Maria, José de Rivera, Roy DeCarava, Beauford Delaney, Laddie John Dill, Charles and Ray Eames, Lucio Fontana, Helen Frankenthaler, Theaster Gates, Frank Gehry, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Wade Guyton, Irena Haiduk, David Hartt, Arturo Herrera, Carmen Herrera, Sheila Hicks, Jörg Immendorff, Lotte Jacobi, Derek Jarman, Rashid Johnson, Jennie C. Jones, Samuel Levi Jones, Ellsworth Kelly, Byron Kim, Lyman Kipp, Yves Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Tadaaki Kuwayama, Kwon Young-woo, Lee Ufan, Marilyn Lenkowsky, Ma Qiusha, Sally Mann, Allan McCollum, Manfred Mohr, Linda Montano, Mun Pyung, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Jules Olitski, Palermo, Palermo & Gerhard Richter, Dan Peterman, Francis Picabia, John Plumb, Avery Preesman, Tobias Rehberger, Ad Reinhardt, Dorothea Rockburne, Ugo Rondinone, Robert Ryman, Fred Sandback, Joe Scanlan, David Schutter, Richard Serra, F.N. Souza, Ted Stamm, Jessica Stockholder, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Hiroyuki Tajima, Tony Tasset, Anne Truitt, Naama Tsabar, William Turnbull, James Turrell, Raoul Ubac, Günther Uecker, Günter Umberg, Wolf Vostell, H. C. Westermann, Amanda Williams, Karl Wirsum, Haegue Yang, Yang Jiechang, and Claire Zeisler.

Expanding Narratives

Monochrome Multitudes is part of the Smart Museum’s ongoing “Expanding Narratives” series that mobilizes collection installations to reevaluate canonic histories and curatorial strategies. The majority of the approximately 120 works on display are drawn from the Smart Museum’s collection. They are supplemented by a number of loans from UChicago alumni, Chicago-area collections, and beyond.

Image: Claire Zeisler, Triptych, 1967, Knotted and tied dyed wool. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Starrels, Sr., 1973.213a-c.

Official Website

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Tags: Ad Reinhardt, Alan Cohen, Alexander Calder, Allan McCollum, Alphonse Allais, Amanda Williams, Anne Truitt, Arturo Herrera, Avery Preesman, Barbara Crane, Barnett Newman, Beauford Delaney, Bethany Collins, Byron Kim, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Carmen Herrera, Charles and Ray Eames, Claire Zeisler, Dan Peterman, David Hartt, David Schutter, Derek Jarman, Dorothea Rockburne, Ellsworth Kelly, Enrico Castellani, Ernő Berda, F.N. Souza, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Francis Picabia, Frank Gehry, Fred Sandback, Günter Umberg, Günther Uecker, H.C. Westermann, Haegue Yang, Helen Frankenthaler, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Hiroyuki Tajima, Hyde Park, Irena Haiduk, Jaime Davidovich, James Turrell, Jennie C. Jones, Jessica Stockholder, Joe Scanlan, John Plumb, Jörg Immendorff, José de Rivera, Josef Albers, Jules Olitski, Karl Wirsum, Kwon Young-woo, Laddie John Dill, Lee Ufan, Linda Montano, Lotte Jacobi, Louise Nevelson, Lucio Fontana, Lyman Kipp, Lynda Benglis, Ma Qiusha, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Manfred Mohr, Marilyn Lenkowsky, Mark Bradford, Mary Abbott, Monochrome Multitudes, Mun Pyung, Naama Tsabar, Palermo, Palermo & Gerhard Richter, Raoul Ubac, Rashid Johnson, Richard Serra, Robert Ryman, Roy DeCarava, Sally Mann, Samuel Levi Jones, Sheila Hicks, Smart Museum, Smart Museum of Art, Tadaaki Kuwayama, Ted Stamm, The University of Chicago, Theaster Gates, Tobias Rehberger, Tony Tasset, Ugo Rondinone, Wade Guyton, Walter De Maria, William Turnbull, Wolf Vostell, Yang Jiechang, Yayoi Kusama, Yves Klein