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Asheville Art Museum

Asheville Art Museum

North Carolina museum exhibiting 20th century American art

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Home > Exhibitions > Meeting the Moon

Meeting the Moon

Dates:
February 3, 2021–July 26, 2021
Location:
Debra McClinton Gallery

The year 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Apollo space program at NASA, but that was hardly the beginning of humankind’s fascination with Earth’s only moon. Before space travel existed, the moon—its shape, its mystery, and the face we see in it—inspired countless artists. Once astronauts landed on the moon and we saw our world from a new perspective, a surge of creativity flooded the American art scene, in paintings, prints, sculpture, music, crafts, film, and poetry. This exhibition, whose title is taken from a 1913 Robert Frost poem, examines artwork in the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection of artists who were inspired by the unknown, then increasingly familiar moon.

Meeting the Moon includes works by nationally renowned artists Newcomb Pottery, James Rosenquist, Maltby Sykes, Paul Soldner, John Lewis, Richard Ritter (Bakersville, NC), and Mark Peiser (Penland, NC). Western North Carolina artists include Jane Peiser (Penland, NC), Jak Brewer (Zionville, NC), Dirck Cruser (Asheville, NC), George Peterson (Lake Toxaway, NC), John B. Neff (NC), and Maud Gatewood (Yanceyville, NC).

To accompany Meeting the Moon, the Museum has built a playlist in YouTube to complement and deepen the experience of the exhibition. The playlist, available here, is in chronological order and highlights some of the best-known Western (and mostly English-language) music, poetry, and spoken word that references the moon. Before 1961 the moon was often used as a metaphor for romance, and afterwards, meanings of exploration were often attached to it. The YouTube playlist is in no way exhaustive, but its works were in the curator’s mind as she put the exhibition together. It is meant to supplement the exhibition and illustrate how pervasive allusions to the moon are in our daily lives.

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator.

Asheville Art Museum is a recipient of the 2021 Southeastern Museums Conference Bronze Award in the Under $10,000 category for Meeting the Moon. The SEMC Exhibition Competition showcases the best in our profession and provides benchmarks for regional exhibition efforts in southeastern museums.

Related Programs & Events

Friday, Apr 2, 2021

Clear as Mud – VIRTUAL

Join Sarah Reincke, master docent, for an interactive conversation about three artworks in our Collection and special exhibitions Fantastical Forms and Meeting the Moon.

Saturday, Apr 17, 2021

Early Bird Yoga

Early Bird Yoga is back! Join us in our spacious atrium for family-friendly yoga and mindfulness.

Friday, Apr 23, 2021

Walking on the Moon – VIRTUAL

Join Hank Bovee, touring docent, for an interactive conversation about three artworks in our special exhibition Meeting the Moon.

Friday, Apr 30, 2021

Is It a Woman’s Point of View? – VIRTUAL

Join Megan Pyle, touring docent, for an interactive conversation about three artworks in our Collection and special exhibition Meeting the Moon.

Friday, May 7, 2021

Darkness to Light – VIRTUAL

Join Sarah Reincke, master docent and Steve Bennett, touring docent, for an interactive conversation about three artworks in our Collection and special exhibitions Many Become One and Meeting the Moon.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

To Boldly Go Where No Artist Has Gone Before: NASA’s Art Program and Visionary Space Artists – VIRTUAL

In the 1950s, Forward-thinking aerospace engineers not only were thinking about space flight but also working on the first practical and serious plan for what would become the Space Age. To help sell their vision, they sought out artists to turn ideas into visual form that the American public could see and understand

Jun 7 - Jun 11, 2021

*WAITING LIST* Space Is the Place (Grades K-2)

Week 1 | June 7–11 | Morning (9am-12pm)

Tuesday, Jun 8, 2021

In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race by Amy Cherrix – VIRTUAL

From local author Amy Cherrix, In the Shadow of the Moon is the extraordinary, often hidden story of the space race, that takes you behind the scenes into the bitter rivalry that launched humankind to the moon.

Jun 14 - Jun 18, 2021

*WAITING LIST* Exploring Sky and Space (Grades 3-5)

Week 2 | June 14–18 | All Day (9am–4pm)

Thursday, Jul 15, 2021

Meet the Moon: Inside and Out

Join staff from the Asheville Art Museum and the Asheville Museum of Science for an exploration of the moon in art and in nature!

Wednesday, Jul 28, 2021

Mysterious Places – VIRTUAL

Today’s program for adults with memory loss and their care partners is led by Hank Bovee, touring docent.

See All Related Events

Selected works from the exhibition

Moonlight
Helen Gerardia, Moonlight
Untitled from Moon Bottle series
John Lewis, Untitled from Moon Bottle series
Vase from Moss and Moonlight series
Newcomb Pottery, Vase from Moss and Moonlight series

Book a Virtual Visit

Groups of students, adults, and family or friend groups with children are invited to schedule an interactive Virtual Visit to the Museum! Led by volunteer docents with Museum staff, our inquiry-based, conversational Virtual Visits introduce the Museum’s galleries with a 3D tour and challenge visitors to hone their observation skills. Click to learn more about Virtual Visits for students, Virtual Visits for adults, or Virtual Visits for families.

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Museum Hours:

Open daily 11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays. Pre-purchased online tickets are encouraged; walk-in tickets are also available.
m

Museum Location:

2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
P

Museum Contact

828.253.3227
mailbox@ashevilleart.org
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