Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Saturday, November 6, in conjunction with the opening of Competing Currents: 20th-Century Japanese Prints, the Clark Art Institute will present a lecture by exhibition curator Oliver Ruhl. The lecture will be presented live via Zoom and Facebook Live at 2 pm.
Competing Currents: 20th-Century Japanese Prints explores two parallel Japanese print-making movements through the Clark’s collection of shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga works. Although conceived in opposition, these two movements became deeply intertwined. By focusing on two key moments in the international exchange of Japanese prints in the twentieth century, the inter-war period and the post-war period, the exhibition considers how travel, tourism, and commercialism intersected within the medium of printmaking during the period.
Ruhl is a recent graduate of the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art, jointly administered with the Clark. He developed the exhibition while completing an internship at the Clark under Anne Leonard, the Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. In addition to his time at the Clark, Ruhl has held positions at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Williams College Museum of Art. He is currently a PhD candidate in the field of Japanese art history at The University of California, Los Angeles.
Advance registration is required. Registrants will receive an email with a private Zoom link to this live virtual program before the event. The event will also be broadcast via Facebook Live. For more information and to register, visit clarkart.edu/events.
Generous support for Competing Currents: 20th-Century Japanese Prints is provided by Elizabeth Lee.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 275,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday and daily in July and August. Advance timed tickets are required. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
