ON THE SURFACE (TRIPTYCH) 1991

cold wax, dry pigments, smoke, and graphite on handmade paper

    
To Exalt the Ephemeral: The (Im)permanent Collection  On view @ BAMPFA until July 6, 2025

Curated by Margot Norton, Chief Curator, and BAMPFA's art and film curatorial teams. To Exalt the Ephemeral: The (Im)permanent Collection draws from BMPFA's art and film collection to explore how museums collect, care for, and amplify the work of artists who celebrate ideas of impermanence and cycles of decay and regeneration. The exhibition is inspired by the rich history of experimentation, performance, and non-object based artistic practices in BAMPFA's exhibition program, as well as the many conceptual projects, scores, ephemera, and works with alternative art making materials and techniques in the museum's collections. The exhibition explores how institutions can embrace the work of artists who not only acknowledge but also exalt the inevitability of impermanence, creating artworks with organic and non-archival materials and without the intention for them to last forever. To Exalt the Ephemeral provides an opportunity to showcase key histories and works in the collection by artists across generations and disciplines.