There are several UALR connections to the “State of the Art–Discovering American Art Now” exhibit, now on display at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

Brad Cushman, gallery director and curator at the UALR Department of Art, and Assistant Curator Nathan Larson recently contributed a critique on the exhibit for Atlanta-based Burnaway, an online blog focused on visual art.

“If the mission of this curatorial project is to introduce contemporary art to a new and larger audience, it succeeds,” Cushman writes in his commentary.

He adds, “Contemporary American art is a result of the postwar American Dream—now a tenuous daydream in the wake of the recent financial meltdown, a growing economic divide, and concerns about the environment and global warming…artists often reflect this anxious uncertain world in their work.”

Both Cushman and Larson were invited to submit the commentary from Burnaway’s editor, Stephanie Cash. Cushman said Cash was seeking area residents to review the exhibit at Crystal Bridges, as well as future exhibits in the region.

Eileen Turan Yanoviak, a graduate of the UALR masters program in Art History, suggested Cash contact Cushman and Larson. Yanoviak, who teaches online classes for the UALR Art Department, is pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

In addition, one of the exhibit’s artists, Delita Martin, of Little Rock, has taught for UALR in the past.  Cushman purchased one of Martin’s works, “Standing in the Night,” for the UALR collection in August, which is included in the current exhibit at Crystal Bridges.

Curators for Crystal Bridges visited 1,000 artists throughout the U.S., resulting in an exhibit that includes 102 artists from 44 states.

The exhibit has garnered national attention, including a recent spot on the television program “CBS Sunday Morning” and a first place mention in Artnet News, which named it among “The 25 Must-See Museum Shows Around the World.”

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