Art in Exchange: North Carolina Artworks in The Johnson Collection

In the modern age, art is widely discussed in terms of digital assets, investments, décor, and merchandise. An artwork’s monetary and aesthetic value take precedence. However, in academic and social spheres, art is valued largely for a different kind of exchange. It’s visual proof of shared practices, not only within local educational institutions, but also from countries far away from the mountains and coastal plains of North Carolina. A painting can reflect values from one hundred years ago. A print can honor suffering and celebrate liberation. This selection from The Johnson Collection provides a window into the vast historical network of cultural exchange through North Carolina art. In this setting, viewers participate in the interchange of memories from artists of the past and sensibilities of the new age.

Bell Hall will exhibit selections on loan from The Johnson Collection representing a diverse roster of visual voices of the South and featuring luminaries like North Carolina native Romare Bearden, known for his vibrant collages combining photography, paint and other media to convey emotion. Other artists represented in the collection are associated with Black Mountain College, an influential art-focused college and artists’ collaborative located in the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains from 1933-1957. Part of the mid-century modernism artistic movement, these artists favored simplicity and clean lines to emphasize the interplay of form and function.

Artwork is featured in two glass cases in the Geordy Johnson Student Lounge as well as sparingly on the walls of the ground floor lobby.