According to studies, there are more than 4 million artists throughout the United States who are actively producing art, yet only a fraction of that number ever receive nationwide notoriety. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art decided to change that by sending two of their curators on a 100,000-mile year-long journey to visit over 1,000 lesser known artists’ studios in virtually every part of the country.
The result is an eclectic collection of over 100 contemporary works of art selected from among living artists and acquired by Crystal Bridges that range from the beautiful to the bizarre. The exhibition drew record crowds to the northwest Arkansas museum in 2015. Click here for the “State of the Art” trailer on YouTube.
In 2016 Crystal Bridges put “State of the Art” on the road, with 5,000 square feet of gallery space dedicated to the exhibition at the Telfair Museum’s Jepson Center in Savannah, Georgia. The showing will run from February 19 – September 4. A near simultaneous opening at the Minneapolis Institute of Art took place on February 18, displaying works of art from the collection through May 29. Another version of “State of the Art” will be closing on March 26 at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee where it opened on January 29.
With so much at stake, the planning for moving the exhibition and the irreplaceable works of art were intricate to say the least with packaging and handling being of utmost concern. To ensure proper crating Crystal Bridges contracted with a Maryland based company to protect the items in the collection. For an interesting blog article on the packaging process, click here. Airways Freight, the Official Shipper for “State of the Art” is providing the transportation logistics for each exhibition.
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