The creation of the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts transformed the visual arts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and forever changed the landscape of contemporary art in Birmingham, Alabama.
AEIVA’s inaugural exhibition, “Material Evidence,” curated by Gail Andrews, director Emerita of the Birmingham Museum of Art, pulled from the impressive private collections of some of Birmingham’s most dedicated art collectors and enthusiasts.
Now, in commemoration of its first decade, AEIVA will present the exhibition “Material Resonance,” curated by John Fields, the Lydia Cheney and Jim Sokol Endowed Director of AEIVA. The large-scale survey of more than 60 artists represents many of its most iconic exhibitions from the past decade and offers a glimpse into future exhibitions.
Featured artists will include Willie Cole, Titus Kaphar, Erin LeAnn Mitchell, Quentin Morris, Leslie Wayne and many more.
An opening reception, free and open to the public, will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, May 31, with a walk-through beginning at 5:30 p.m. led by John Fields and AEIVA curator Hannah Spears along with select artists featured in the exhibition.
This exhibition is the largest survey of AEIVA’s permanent collection ever attempted, and has been two years in the making, Fields says.
Read more and hear from Fields and Spears on AEIVA’s first 10 years in UAB Magazine’s spring 2024 issue.
“Many of the artists responsible for AEIVA’s most successful exhibitions are represented in this show, and it’s remarkable how many of them now reside in our collection,” Fields said. “I really see this exhibition as a bookend to our inaugural exhibition and the closing of a 10-year chapter in AEIVA’s history.”
The striking, 26,000-square-foot building of red brick, glass and patinaed zinc features three galleries, a two-story atrium, classroom and office space, and a lecture hall. Named for lead donors Hal Abroms, the late Judy Abroms, and the late Ruth and Marvin Engel, the building was designed by the late renowned architect Randall Stout. It features state-of-the-art security and environmental control systems for humidity, temperature and UV exposure.
The artists whose works are also featured in “Material Resonance” are Kathryn Andrews, Jessica Angel, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Lucas Blalock, Mike Bouchet, Amanda Browder, Catherine Cabaniss, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Enrique Chagoya, Tameca Cole, Willie Cole, Thornton Dial, Michael Dixon, Jordan Eagles, Nora Ezell, Mark Flood, Delrico Gibson, Milton Glaser, Irene Grau, Roscoe Hall, Donté K. Hayes, Lonnie Holley, Sam Jablon, Alex Jackson, Folkert de Jong, Wyatt Kahn, Jon Key, David Levinthal, Ligorano/Reese, Kadir López, Luba Lukova, Charles Lutz, David Maisel, James Marshall (Dalek), Kate Meissner, Jiha Moon, Leonard Nimoy, Gordon Parks, Amy Pleasant, George Rickey, Chiharu Takahashi Roach, Carlos Rolón, James Rosenquist, Amanda Ross-Ho, Paul Rusconi, David Sandlin, Christopher Saucedo, Pete Schulte, Carolyn Sherer, Jacqueline Surdell, Hank Willis Thomas, Melissa Trochez, Vadis Turner, Melissa Vandenberg, Michael Velliquette, Peter Voulkos, Andy Warhol, John Waters, Fred Webster, Christina A. West, Mary Frances Whitfield and John Lytle Wilson.