Free reception for new Barnes Foundation members to view the exhibition 'Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America' and the collection after hours, with an exclusive tour, hors d'oeuvres and drinks.
The Barnes Foundation is hosting a new member reception on Monday, November 2, from 5:30 to 8 PM. If you've recently joined, it's a good excuse to get back into the galleries after hours, with hors d'oeuvres and drinks and an exclusive tour of the current exhibition.
That exhibition is Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America, which brings together work by two generations of artists affected by forced relocation and incarceration during World War II. Isamu Noguchi and Ruth Asawa both worked in three dimensions—sculpture, furniture, and objects—and the show looks at how their practice intersected with the political climate of the mid-century. It's the kind of show that works better when you have some time to sit with it, and having the galleries to yourself after the general public has gone home gives you exactly that.
There's a bit of local irony to the evening, too. The Barnes' own collecting history adds a layer to the whole thing: the foundation's founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes, staged a Philadelphia exhibition back in 1923 that the city's critics panned at the time. The Barnes has always had a complicated relationship with the local establishment, and that history sits right alongside the work on display.
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Beyond the exhibition, the reception is open to the rest of the collection, so you can wander from the Noguchi and Asawa pieces into the broader galleries. The event is free for new members, though registration is required. It runs from 5:30 to 8 PM on Monday, November 2, at The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.
