Robert Motherwell (American, 1915–1991) is best known for the defining role he played in the history of postwar American painting. Considering his life-long dedication to painting, it is perhaps surprising that Motherwell was also one of the most prolific printmakers of the twentieth century. Now on view at the Bruce Museum, the exhibition Robert Motherwell and Multiplicity delves into the print, collage, and drawn works from the Bruce Museum collection, alongside works on loan from the Dedalus Foundation and Kasmin Gallery.

On Thursday, November 30th, learn more about this exhibition with Guest Curator Dr. Jennifer Cohen and Dr. Jennifer Farrell, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Prints, Illustrated Books, and Artists' Books at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During this program, Dr. Cohen and Dr. Farrell will discuss Motherwell’s artistic practice, legacy, and how his experiences influenced his artistic process.

Bruce Presents: Motherwell and Multiplicity, Curator Conversations will take place in the Gale and Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., and Pamela and Robert Goergen Auditorium. This event will be livestreamed.

About our Speakers:

Jennifer Cohen is guest curator of Robert Motherwell and Multiplicity at the Bruce Museum, now on view, and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. Her exhibitions and publications have addressed Surrealism and its legacies, and she recently co-curated the exhibition Salvador Dali: The Image Disappears with Caitlin Haskell at the Art Institute of Chicago. She holds a PhD in art history from the University of Chicago, and her research has been supported by the Mellon-Council of European Studies, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Dedalus Foundation. Her writing on Robert Motherwell has been published in the Brooklyn Rail and she is a contributor to the catalogue for the retrospective exhibition Robert Motherwell: Pure Painting, originating at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and now on view at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien.

Jennifer Farrell, Curator, is responsible for modern and contemporary prints, illustrated books, and artists' books at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She joined the department in 2014 after holding curatorial positions at the Yale University Art Gallery, the University of Virginia, and the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, as well as serving as Executive Director of the Nancy Graves Foundation and teaching at Yale University, the School of Visual Arts, and the American University of Paris among other schools.  Her exhibitions at the Met include Modern Times: British Prints, 1913-1939 (2020-21), Ragnar Kjartansson: Death Is Elsewhere (2019), World War I and the Visual Arts (2017-18, for which she authored the related Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Fall 2017) and Workshop and Legacy: Stanley William Hayter, Krishna Reddy, Zarina Hashmi (2016-17). She has published numerous books including Get There and Decide Promptly: The Richard Brown Baker Collection of Postwar Art (2012), which received The Frick Collection's 2013 Book Prize for a Distinguished Publication in the History of Collecting in America, Suzanne McClelland, STrAY: Found Poems from a Lost Time (2013), Lucian Freud: Etchings (2015), The History and Legacy of Samuel M. Kootz and the Kootz Gallery (2016), and Modern Times: British Prints, 1913-1939 (2021), in addition to several essays and reviews. She earned a BA from Smith College and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and attended the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program.  She is currently working on an exhibition and publication on the American artist John Wilson for 2025.

Support for Bruce Presents is generously provided by Berkley One, a Berkley Company.

Space is limited. Online registration required.

Cost: Adults - $25, Livestream $25, Students - $15 / Members FREE