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For nearly a century, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art has provided students, faculty, and the broader community opportunities to connect with works of art across time periods and cultures. Initially founded in 1933 as an Asian art museum with the generous donation of Gertrude Bass Warner’s collection of over 3,700 works of art, the museum’s collecting interests have since broadened to artworks from around the world that provide even more opportunities for cross-cultural and curricular connections. JSMA began collecting American and regional art in the 1960s, and now stewards work by artists from the United States, Mesoamerica, contemporary Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other areas of the Caribbean and across the Americas. With our recent acquisitions, the museum aims to reflect the voices and experiences of diverse audiences and the new and evolving ideas, insights, and conversations presented by artists in work that both shapes and responds to culture.

Collecting America: Recent Acquisitions presents a selection of artworks from the museum’s permanent collection that demonstrate our commitment to understandings of American art informed by perspectives from local, national, and internationally recognized artists. Through various materials and practices, the featured artists demonstrate the great diversity of art made in or in response to the United States of America. These works invite viewers to participate in conversations on identity, place, politics, and other issues facing our world today.

This exhibition is organized by JSMA executive director Olivia Miller and curators Katie Loney, Danielle Knapp, and Thom Sempere, with graduate student interns Aidyn Dervaes (MA candidate, History of Art and Architecture), Parisa Garazhian (MFA candidate, Studio Art), and Lorna Isaacson (MA candidate, History of Art and Architecture).

Navigating Through Centuries surveys the complex trajectory of art in Korea, which was significantly impacted by socio-political upheaval and cultural developments from the fifth century to the present. The exhibition is comprised of six chronological thematic sections — from the power and religion of the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–668 CE), to the refined aristocratic ideals of the Goryeo (918–1392) and Confucian governance of the Joseon (1392–1910) dynasties, through vestiges of tradition after the Korean War (1950–1953), experimental practices during the modern era, and globalization of contemporary art. Each section examines how aesthetic practices respond to the evolving philosophies, ideologies, critical events, and issues of a specific historical period.

    The exhibition begins with materials from the Three Kingdoms period in which are embedded political/religious authority and communal rituals, laying the foundation for Korean cultural memory. The Goryeo dynasty section highlights the refined aesthetics and Buddhist motifs that reflect aristocratic ideals and literati culture, while also indicating Korea’s participation in East Asian cultural exchange. The Joseon section showcases art that embodies the Confucian literati values that fundamentally shaped the moral order, governance, and cultural life of the period.

    The modern and contemporary sections focus on twentieth-century art, which has continually questioned, responded to, and been shaped by the last tumultuous century of Korean history. The first postwar section features art that portrays the remnants of indigenous culture in the aftermath of the Korean War. The next section presents experimental works by artists who challenged the canon of art by blurring boundaries of cultures, genres, and mediums. The final section showcases global contemporary art by diasporic creators, many of whom have played central roles in integrating Korean art into the international mainstream.

    Navigating Through Centuries narrates the conflicted yet intertwined relationships between art and culture, individuals and communities, and socio-politics and history, inviting audiences to consider the broad history of Korea through the lens of art. The exhibition was curated by Soojin Jeong, 2023–2026 Post-Graduate Curatorial Fellow in East Asian Art, as well as Heejung Chang, 2025–2026 JSMA/Korea Foundation Global Challengers Museum Intern.

Join us every Tuesday at 8am for Latent 80s with Spidersound. Obscure and semi-obscure music the 1980s and thereabouts — new wave, alternative, synthpop, punk, etc.

To see playlists from past shows: https://spinitron.com/KWVA/show/140922/Latent-80s

Join us every Tuesday at 10am for ABC's of Music with Uncle Manny. An eclectic blend of music, presented in alphabetical order (by artist/band name). The goal is for every episode to contain music from at least five different genres, and at least eight recently released songs (within the past six months).

To see playlists from past shows: https://spinitron.com/KWVA/show/291176/ABC-s-of-Music