The World Turned Upside Down: A Contemporary Response

Jean Dubuffet
French, 1901 ‑ 1985
Appeal for Calm (Appel au calme), 1962
Gouache on paper
32 × 26 5/16 in. (81.3 × 66.8 cm.)
Bequest from the Nancy Batson Rash and Dillman A. Rash Collection 1998.19.2

Bob Thompson
American, 1937-1966
Self-Portrait in the Studio, 1960
Oil on board
40 x 30 in.
Museum Purchase with Alice Speed Stoll Accessions Fund and funds generously donated by Ambassador Matthew Barzun and Brooke Brown Barzun, Greg Brown and Scott Rogers, John S. and Mary Moss Greenebaum, and Alfred Shands 2017.20

Barbara Kruger
American, born 1945
Untitled (Think Like Us)
1994
Plexiglas
55 x 55 x 1/4 in. (139.7 x 139.7 x 0.6 cm.)
Gift of Mrs. Hattie Bishop Speed, by exchange
1994.3.1
Copyright Barbara Kruger Courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York

Barbara Kruger
American, born 1945
Untitled (Talk Like Us), 1994
Photographic screenprint on Plexiglas
55 × 55 × 1/4 in. (139.7 × 139.7 × 0.6 cm.)
Gift of Mrs. Hattie Bishop Speed, by exchange 1994.3.2

Hans Arp
French, born Germany, 1886 ‑ 1966
Awakening, 1938 plaster original, cast 1953
Bronze
26 3/8 × 9 3/8 × 8 7/8 in. (67 × 23.8 × 22.5 cm.)
Gift of Sylvia and Joseph Slifka 2004.5.2

Ghada Amer
Egyptian, born 1963
The Big Red Rose‑RFGA, 2004
Acrylic, embroidery, and gel medium on canvas
72 × 64 × 1 1/2 in. (182.9 × 162.6 × 3.8 cm.)
Purchased with funds from the New Art Collectors and the Alice Speed Stoll Accessions Trust 2004.9.1

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Featuring artwork from the twentieth and twenty-first century, this re-installation features pieces from the Speed’s permanent collection that focus on the role of artists in marking societal and political change. From commemorating the advances of the 1960s civil rights moment, to memorializing wartime atrocities, to acknowledging the persistence of systemic racism in society, and exploring the ever-shifting politics of the domestic sphere, artists reflect our changing world back to us through the lens of creativity.

Through exploring how artists have interpreted transitions in their environment, community, and family like, this display highlights the invaluable role of artists in helping us absorb and understand how our world continues to evolve.

This re-installation of the collection is complemented by a related presentation of The World Turned Upside Down in Gallery 2, featuring artworks from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Exhibition supported provided by:
Alan and Shelly Ann Kamei
Exhibition season support provided by:
Dav Fam Art Fund
Cary Brown and Steven E. Epstein
Paul and Deborah Chellgren
Debra and Ronald Murphy
Eleanor Bingham Miller