A Material Legacy

Comprised of more than thirty large-scale works in two- and three-dimensions and drawn entirely from the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Collection, A Material Legacy is a multi-generational exhibition that illustrates the material impulse found in contemporary art-making practices. Nearly all of the works in the exhibition have been made within the last ten years, and many in the last several years, providing an almost real-time glimpse into the varied approaches and innovative techniques of art being made in the second decade of the twenty-first century. As the daughter and son-in-law of legendary art collectors, patrons, benefactors and philanthropists Raymond D. and Patsy R. Nasher, Nancy Nasher and David Haemisegger have continued a family tradition by amassing a significant art collection. Raymond and Patsy acquired one of the world’s great collections of modern sculpture, while Nancy and David have focused primarily on contemporary art, expanding their interest beyond three-dimensional work to include painting, drawing, and multimedia works into their collection. A Material Legacy reveals the various ways in which contemporary artists manifest a material tendency, from the politically-charged works of Ivan Navarro and Kara Walker, the formal complexity of Tony Cragg, and the ascetic repetition of Sol Lewitt, to the colorful exuberance of Katharina Grosse and Elliot Hundley, among many others. The exhibition will be on display at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University from February 18 to July 10, 2016.