Opening Aug. 31, the exhibition charts the Museum’s history ahead of its reinstallation debuting in the fall
At the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison), the collection serves as a catalyst for exhibitions. It also grows from them. “Recollection: Exhibiting the Collection,” on view Aug. 31-Dec. 23, celebrates this dynamic relationship with works that were included in the institution’s inaugural exhibition in 1970 and span five decades of collecting. The presentation offers historical context for the Chazen’s holdings ahead of the Museum’s newly designed permanent collection galleries opening later in the fall. The Chazen will return to pre-closure hours: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–7 p.m. (gallery opens at 10 a.m.) and weekends 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
“Museum collections aren’t static, and every exhibition has a lasting impact on the Museum. ‘Recollection’ illustrates how collections and exhibitions have operated in tandem at the Chazen Museum of Art to shape the evolution of the Museum,” said Katherine Alcauskas, chief curator at the Chazen Museum of Art.
The Chazen Museum of Art, which opened as the Elvehjem Art Center in 1970, started with a collection of fewer than 5,000 objects. Its inaugural temporary exhibition brought together artworks already donated to UW–Madison alongside works lent by alumni and friends. Since then, 30 of those original loaned objects have officially entered the Chazen’s collection, which has grown to more than 25,000 works.
“Recollection” includes a partial recreation of that first exhibition, “19th and 20th Century Art from Collections of Alumni and Friends” (1970) alongside a miniature version of “Tradition and Innovation: The Human Figure in Contemporary Chinese Art” (2015), an exhibition challenging preconceptions about Chinese art, curated by then-museum director Russell Panczenko. With interpretive text drawn from the original labels, the installations demonstrate how language and tone have shifted over time. Pairing the exhibitions originally presented 45 years apart also emphasizes how the institution’s architectural expansion allowed the Chazen to collect and present larger works. Visitors will also see the shift in the role of museums, which have increasingly been tasked with addressing more contemporary, global subjects.
“Recreating influential exhibitions from the past isn’t just an exercise in nostalgia. It examines how the Chazen Museum of Art has evolved, highlighting the circular relationship between temporary exhibitions and the Museum’s holdings that consistently inspire fresh ideas,” said Alcauskas.
Other sections in the exhibition offer a closer look at the Chazen’s collection. The first includes artworks that made their Chazen debut in a temporary exhibition and later became a part of the collection. Among them are Gronk’s “Fragments of a Landscape” added to the collection in 1995 following the exhibition “Gronk: Iron Weave” and Gillian Jagger’s “Whorl,” added to the Chazen’s holdings in 2003 following “The Art of Gillian Jagger,” the first museum-organized exhibition of the artist’s work. “Recollection” also includes works acquired after “The Art of Judy Pfaff” (2001) and “Peter Gourfain: Clay, Wood, Bronze and Works on Paper” (2002).
The next section explores how the Chazen’s holdings helped spark ideas for major exhibitions across the institution’s history, including a second exhibition of Gourfain’s work, entitled “Peter Gourfain: Roundabout and Fate of the Earth Doors” (2005-2006). The exhibition includes several African artworks the Chazen collected in the 1990s as well as a couple made possible by a five-year gift from the Straus Family Foundation and featured in the recent “Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection” (2023). This exhibition strengthened the Chazen’s relationship with living artists and traveled to institutions in Georgia and Florida following its debut at the Chazen. “Recollection” features “Insistent Presence” works Ajarb Bernard Ategwa’s “Evening Picture” (2020) and François-Xavier Gbré’s “Piscine #1, Université Félix-Houphouët-Boigny, Riviera, Cocody, Abidjan” (2014).
Pierre Paul Prud’hon’s “Female Nude: Study for ‘The Soul Breaking the Ties That Bind It to Earth’” (1821-1823) was presented more than 40 years ago in “A Director’s Legacy,” a 1983 exhibition honoring the work of Katherine Harper Mead, who was killed in a car accident just two years after becoming the Museum’s director. “Recollection” also includes chairs designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen that were featured in “Have a Seat: Chairs Then and Now.” The 1983 exhibition catered to visitors who were visually impaired with audio guides and large-print and braille interpretative material.
“The Chazen Museum of Art’s building, collection and exhibition program have all experienced immense growth since opening as the Elvehjem Art Center more than five decades ago. That growth continues with the reinstallation of the permanent collection,” said Amy Gilman, director of the Chazen Museum of Art and senior director for the arts and media at UW–Madison. “‘Recollection’ invites visitors to celebrate the Chazen’s journey in anticipation of a new object-centered approach that brings together works from across time, media and culture.”
“Recollection” is on view through Dec. 23. The Chazen will unveil its reinstalled permanent collection across 24 newly designed gallery spaces later in the fall.
About the Chazen Museum of Art Permanent Collection Reinstallation
The Chazen Museum of Art is reinstalling its permanent collection to offer broader experiences with art that provide multiple paths to engagement and meet visitors at their individual level of knowledge. In a departure from a traditional chronological installation, the Chazen will anchor each gallery with a deeply researched focus object. A constellation of additional works from across time, media and cultures will encourage deeper understanding, comparison and contrast. This long-contemplated project began several years ago with curators and subject matter experts conducting a deep exploration of the more than 25,000 artworks in the Chazen’s care. They also gathered visitor feedback through observation, surveys and small group meetings. This new model for exhibiting the Chazen’s holdings allows for more flexible approaches to collecting in the future and celebrates new forms of exploration with museum visitors as well as students, faculty and staff at UW–Madison.
# # #
About the Chazen Museum of Art
The Chazen Museum of Art makes its home between two lakes on the beautiful campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Within walking distance of the state capitol, it sits squarely in the heart of a vibrant college town. The Chazen’s expansive two-building site is 166,000 square feet. The collection of approximately 25,000 works of art covers diverse historical periods, cultures and geographic locations, from ancient Greece, Western Europe and the Soviet Empire to Moghul India, 18th-century Japan and modern Africa. In fall 2026, the Chazen will debut its completely reinstalled collection galleries designed to provide more ways for visitors to understand, appreciate, interpret and look closely at the artwork. For more information: chazen.wisc.edu.