Past Exhibitions

Past Exhibitions

See what we've brought in the past

See what we've brought in the past

November 23rd

The Human Zoo by Kent Monkman

Experience the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s latest acquisition: The Human Zoo (2015) by Cree artist Kent Monkman (b. 1965).

Learn More
Kent Monkman, The Human Zoo, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum Purchase. 2022.7a-e
Kent Monkman, The Human Zoo, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum Purchase. 2022.7a-e

Opening May 20

In the Moment: Art from the 1950s to Now

Contemporary art can capture the political and cultural essence of our time while contemplating and transcending our everyday realities. As time passes, this art connects us with the defining spirit of an era, becoming a visual record of a moment.

Learn More
Rashid Johnson, 'Seascape "Milestones"', 2022 Oil on linen; 95 × 122 in. From the collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde
Rashid Johnson, 'Seascape "Milestones"', 2022 Oil on linen; 95 × 122 in. From the collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde

May 12th - July/August 2023

Sense-ational!: The Art of the Five Senses

Explore how artists convey sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch in their masterpieces. This interactive exhibit will highlight art from Memphis’s art collection ranging from floral watercolor to Cubist prints. 

Learn More
Walter I. Anderson (American (active in Mississippi), 1903 - 1965), Floral Decorative, 1951, Watercolor, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery purchase, funds provided by the Memphis Park Commission, the Brooks Fine Arts Foundation and Mrs. Walter I. Anderson, 69.7.2
Walter I. Anderson (American (active in Mississippi), 1903 - 1965), Floral Decorative, 1951, Watercolor, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery purchase, funds provided by the Memphis Park Commission, the Brooks Fine Arts Foundation and Mrs. Walter I. Anderson, 69.7.2

February 15th - April 30th

Art Builds Creativity

This dynamic exhibition features artwork created by the Memphis-area students who participated in the 2022-23 Art Builds Creativity (ABC) program.

Learn More

January 27 - October 29, 2023

Tommy Kha: Eye is Another

This site-specific, photography-based installation by artist Tommy Kha explores themes of identity, (in)visibility, and sense of place and is presented as part of the inaugural, state-wide Tennessee Triennial for Contemporary Art organized by Tristar Arts.

Learn More
Tommy Kha, 'Eye is Another', 2022-23, Inkjet prints on Photo Tex, dimensions variable
Tommy Kha, 'Eye is Another', 2022-23, Inkjet prints on Photo Tex, dimensions variable

March 10 - June 25, 2023

Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative

Through her visceral paintings that weave the tales of West African Yorùbà religion, Greco-Roman mythology, and Christianity with artistic techniques of European Old Masters, Harmonia Rosales rewrites the narrative from her perspective in a way that bridges the vastest of oceans and collapses the passing of millennia.

Learn More
Harmonia Rosales, 'Migration of the Gods', 2021 Oil with iron oxide and 24 karat gold leaf on Belgian linen mounted on wood panel 36 × 72 in. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum purchase, 2022.2
Harmonia Rosales, 'Migration of the Gods', 2021 Oil with iron oxide and 24 karat gold leaf on Belgian linen mounted on wood panel 36 × 72 in. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Museum purchase, 2022.2

New Acquisition

Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)

To further build Memphis' Art Collection, the Brooks has commissioned the Memphis-based artist Carl E. Moore to create a work inspired by our soon-to-be new location Downtown on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Learn More
Carl E. Moore, 'Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)', 2022. Acrylic on canvas.
Carl E. Moore, 'Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)', 2022. Acrylic on canvas.

January 4 - August 29

Art of the African Diaspora

As conversations around the African Diaspora shift and evolve, so too will this display, aided by the museum actively acquiring works that reflect these varied, global experiences.

Learn More

February 15th - April 30th

Art Builds Creativity

This dynamic exhibition features artwork created by the Memphis-area students who participated in the 2022-23 Art Builds Creativity (ABC) program.

Learn More

January 20 - February 19, 2023

2023 Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards

Learn More
“Kendall” by Sydney Wickens, age 18, grade 12, Arlington High School, Drawing & Illustration, Senior Division Best in Show
“Kendall” by Sydney Wickens, age 18, grade 12, Arlington High School, Drawing & Illustration, Senior Division Best in Show

January 27 - October 29, 2023

Tommy Kha: Eye is Another

This site-specific, photography-based installation by artist Tommy Kha explores themes of identity, (in)visibility, and sense of place and is presented as part of the inaugural, state-wide Tennessee Triennial for Contemporary Art organized by Tristar Arts.

Learn More
Tommy Kha, 'Eye is Another', 2022-23, Inkjet prints on Photo Tex, dimensions variable
Tommy Kha, 'Eye is Another', 2022-23, Inkjet prints on Photo Tex, dimensions variable

Frozen in Motion

In partnership with Creative Aging Memphis, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art hosted a sculpture workshop for senior adults to exercise their creativity, explore new artmaking processes, and create their own three-dimensional artwork.

Learn More
Elvis by Judy Bilbrey
Elvis by Judy Bilbrey

Día de los Muertos Altar Show

Our annual ofrendas exhibition celebrates the tradition of honoring deceased loved ones on Día de los Muertos with altars. Coinciding with our Día de los Muertos Community Day, this exhibition displays the work of local Memphis students who have constructed ofrendas for deceased people who they admire.

Learn More
Ode To Flora, Fauna, and Frida, By Brighton Elementary 5th grade students and Art Educator Kathryn Vaughn, 2019
Ode To Flora, Fauna, and Frida, By Brighton Elementary 5th grade students and Art Educator Kathryn Vaughn, 2019

Oct 7 - Jan 8

Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak's Designs for Opera and Ballet

Calling all wild things, mischievous children, and lovable characters! Come to the Brooks and be transported from page to stage to faraway places...

Learn More
Maurice Sendak, 'Diorama of Moishe scrim and flower proscenium (Where the Wild Things Are),' 1979-1983, watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite pencil on laminated paperboard. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation. The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Maurice Sendak, 2013.103:69, 70, 71.
Maurice Sendak, 'Diorama of Moishe scrim and flower proscenium (Where the Wild Things Are),' 1979-1983, watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite pencil on laminated paperboard. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation. The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Maurice Sendak, 2013.103:69, 70, 71.

September 30 - October 21

Brooks Outside: Evanescent

Come explore this immersive, outdoor light and sound experience inspired by the beauty, fragility, and transience of the natural world.

Learn More

June 24 – September 11, 2022

Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis

While digital art has existed since the 1960s, it has experienced increasingly mainstream interest in recent years. Due in part to our shift toward virtual environments during the Covid-19 pandemic, this rise in interest from artists to collectors has also been fueled by the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

Learn More
Kenneth Wayne Alexander II, 'Tower of Babel', 2021. Digital video. Courtesy of the artist.
Kenneth Wayne Alexander II, 'Tower of Babel', 2021. Digital video. Courtesy of the artist.

August 17, 2023 - January 7, 2024

Black American Portraits

Black American Portraits reframes the history of portraiture to center Black American subjects, sitters, and spaces. The exhibition chronicles the many ways in which Black Americans have used portraiture to envision themselves in their own eyes.

Learn More
Ming Smith, Grace Jones, Studio 54 II, 1979, gelatin silver print, 12 × 18 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, promised gift of Janine Sherman Barrois and Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr. © Ming Smith, digital image courtesy of the artist
Ming Smith, Grace Jones, Studio 54 II, 1979, gelatin silver print, 12 × 18 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, promised gift of Janine Sherman Barrois and Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr. © Ming Smith, digital image courtesy of the artist

November 2023 - October 2024

Rotunda Project: Thomas Jackson

Pennsylvania-based artist Thomas Jackson (b. 1971; Philadelphia) harnesses the wind and lightweight nylon tullein pastel shades to create ethereal works of art that blur the boundaries between landscape photography, sculpture, and kinetic art. 

Learn More
Thomas Jackson, Tulle no. 34_v2, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, 2021.
Thomas Jackson, Tulle no. 34_v2, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, 2021.

April 2024 - August 2024

Christian Siriano: People Are People

'People Are People' honors famed American designer Christian Siriano’s electrifying contributions to fashion. Drawn from his extensive archive, the exhibition features bold creations from Siriano’s decade-plus career that celebrate self-expression for every body at every age.

Learn More
Portrait of the artist, SCAD FASH, Museum of Fashion and Film
Portrait of the artist, SCAD FASH, Museum of Fashion and Film

May 2024 - October 2024

Hand-made Paper Works from Dieu Donné

Comprised of an eclectic selection of works on paper, this exhibition highlights recent gifts of works produced at Dieu Donné, a leading non-profit cultural institution dedicated to serving established and emerging artists through the collaborative creation of contemporary art using the process of hand papermaking.

Learn More
John Shorb, Song of Eve, 2021. Linen pulp paint on a cotton base sheet. 25.5 x 18.75”.
John Shorb, Song of Eve, 2021. Linen pulp paint on a cotton base sheet. 25.5 x 18.75”.

September 2024 - January 2025

Brooks Outside: Jeffrey Gibson

Internationally acclaimed artist Jeffrey Gibson’s (b. 1972; Colorado Springs) outdoor sculptural installation Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House serves as an homage to the ingenuity of Indigenous North American peoples and cultures, to pre-Columbian Mississippian architecture, and to queer camp aesthetics.

Learn More
Jeffrey Gibson, Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House
Jeffrey Gibson, Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House

September 2024 - January 2025

Andrea Morales: Run Down Like Water

Memphis-based Peruvian-American photographer Andrea Morales’s (b. 1984; Lima, Peru) portrayal of the Delta South is deeply rooted in the communities she engages with, and because of this, a truer account of this region that is often portrayed through stereotypes, misperceptions, nostalgia, and storytelling. 

Learn More
Andrea Morales, Kaylin McCain and Jakayla Davis wait for their grandmother to sign up for the Affordable Care Act at Impact Baptist Church in Frayser, a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood, in February 2015.
Andrea Morales, Kaylin McCain and Jakayla Davis wait for their grandmother to sign up for the Affordable Care Act at Impact Baptist Church in Frayser, a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood, in February 2015.

October 2024 - June 2025

Rotunda Project: Rebecca Louise Law

Rebecca Louise Law (b.1980; London, UK) is known for creating immersive installations with natural materials, particularly preserved flowers. Individually sewn and suspended, viewers are invited to navigate through them, discovering the diverse forms, colors and textures of each specimen. 

Learn More
Rebecca Louise Law, The Womb, 2019-2020. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Michigan.
Rebecca Louise Law, The Womb, 2019-2020. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Michigan.

Galleries

You can start your visit to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art online and purchase your tickets before your arrive.

Plan your visit

Permanent Collections

Information about the permanent collections of the Brooks Museum

Interior with Soldiers
Provenance Research Paintings
View CollectionView Collection