Patterns, Systems, Structures: Abstraction in American Art

December 3, 2011-May 19, 2013

This exhibition will explore various approaches to abstraction in American art by drawing examples from MAM’s permanent collection. Since the late 19th century, painters and sculptors have not always aimed to depict persons and objects realistically, but rather deliberately altered their subject’s natural appearance. Artists have made these transformations in an effort to communicate something they cannot convey through realistic treatments.