Contemporary Art

Defying Expectations

The sculptures in the special exhibition Doris Salcedo: The Materiality of Mourning attest to the Colombian artist’s exhaustive focus on details and her emphasis on handmade materials.

Weighty Works

The sheer size and weight of two untitled furniture sculptures in the special exhibition Doris Salcedo: The Materiality of Mourning presented formidable challenges to museums staff. 

A Conversation with Doris Salcedo

In Cambridge for the opening of our special exhibition Doris Salcedo: The Materiality of Mourning, Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo sat down with exhibition curator Mary Schneider Enriquez and us to answer a few questions.

The Impossible, Made Real

How does an artist turn a seemingly impossible idea into reality? How do we ensure that future generations can view art made from ephemeral materials? Those questions are at the heart of curators and conservators’ joint approach to A Flor de Piel (2013), a work featured in the special exhibition Dor...

A Conversation with Wolfgang Tillmans

Contemporary German artist Wolfgang Tillmans shared insights about the creation of his 19-part installation Folding, Refraction, Touch—Installation for the Busch-Reisinger Museum (2013), now on view at the Harvard Art Museums.

Reading into Salcedo’s Art

Doris Salcedo: The Materiality of Mourning, a new book complementing our special exhibition of the same name, delves into the unique materiality of works by this contemporary Colombian artist. 

Wolfgang Tillmans in Context

The first three words in the title of Wolfgang Tillmans’s Folding, Refraction, Touch—Installation for the Busch-Reisinger Museum provided a useful framework for curating an exhibition of works by other modern and contemporary artists.

In Salcedo’s Studio

A visit to Doris Salcedo’s studio in Bogotá, Colombia, helped curator Mary Schneider Enriquez to develop her upcoming exhibition of Salcedo’s works. 

Gilchrist Talks about Everywhen

Australian Studies Visiting Curator Stephen Gilchrist spoke with us about Everywhen, an exhibition of contemporary Indigenous art from Australia.

Remembrance and Activism

Contemporary artwork with an activist bent is featured in the “Remembrance” section of the Everywhen exhibition.