From the Bluff to the Park: The Metal Museum's Collection Through Time
September 5 - March 28
Second and Third Floor Galleries
Martha Banyas (American, 1944-2023) Winter's Water: Rite of Passage, 2013. Copper, enamel, and wood. Metal Museum Permanent Collection, Gift of Martha Banyas 2023.9.9
Our first major exhibition in the Metal Museum's new home at Overton Park, From the Bluff to the Park: The Metal Museum's Collection Through Time traces the history and evolution of the museums collections, from the Metal Museum's founding in 1979 to its expansion. This exhibition will show early collecting milestones, showcase exceptional work from the collections, and highlight how the collection may grow in the future.
Jim Masterson is the Director of the Metal Studios at the Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. He received his BFA in Metals from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville in 1990 and his MFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1994. Masterson has shown work nationally and internationally and is the 5th boy in a family of 7 kids and always enjoys a good laugh.
“You never stop learning and you never know what you're going to pick up from somebody else.”
–JIM MASTERSON
Possibly Richard T. James, Slinky, about the mid-20th century. On loan from the collection of Jim Masterson.
Sarah Dorau, Little Cat, 2016. Cast aluminum and cast bronze. On loan from the collection of Jim Masterson.
“A lot of my work focuses on growing up in a large family and being a twin. And of course, humor. I'm always trying to make people laugh or have them make me laugh. And so, I like humor in pieces, too, even if it's just subtle things... ”
–JIM MASTERSON
EXHIBITION & PROGRAMMING SUPPORT
Hyde Family Foundation
Windgate Foundation
OPERATING SUPPORT
ARTSmemphis
Tennessee Arts Commission
What We Surround Ourselves With is part of Handwork 2026, Craft in America’s nationwide semiquincentennial collaboration showcasing the importance of the handmade and celebrating the diversity of craft that defines America.
