Past Exhibitions

On View

Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium

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

Learn More

Chaotic Equilibrium

November 11 2023 - January 7 2024

Inspired Aging: Wellness and Creative Courage

The Inspired Aging: Art and Wellness course brings to life the many ways mindfulness and creativity can both inspire and positively impact well-being.

‍

Learn More

October 2023 – May 2024

China Blues: The World of Blue & White Ceramics

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has recently received a generous gift of 95 spectacular works of Chinese art. The collection includes a range of objects from the Ming and Qing dynasties in a wide array of materials, including beautifully carved jades, paintings, textiles, and ceramics.

Learn More

Unknown Maker, Chinese Blue and White Melon-shaped Vase, late 19th century Porcelain 14 x 15 in. (35.6 x 38.1 cm) Proposed gift of the Peabody Place Museum Foundation PA.2022.40.36

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

Barkley Leonnard Hendricks, 'Self Portrait', 1977, © Barkley L. Hendricks. Rennie Collection, Vancouver

Ongoing

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

oNgoing

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.

Ongoing

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

Currently on view

Power and Absence

This reimagining of the Schilling Gallery explores the representation of women in Europe from around 1500 to 1680, known as the Renaissance and Early Baroque period. Most of the works in this room have been made by men.

Learn More

Sofonisba Anguissola, 'Self-Portrait', 1560, oil on wood panel, Memphis Park Commission Purchase, 43.11

ongoing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

MCA at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

For eighty-four years, the Memphis College of Art (MCA) offered rigorous arts education to students from across the country and around the world. To celebrate the illustrious history of the college, in 2025 the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will open an exhibition with works by faculty, administrators, and graduates.

Learn More