August 2022 Exhibitions and Event Listings for the Cleveland Museum of Art

Exhibitions

The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion
Through September 11, 2022
Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Gallery 

The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion features vibrant portraits and conceptual images that fuse art and fashion photography. The exhibition opens conversations around the representation of the Black body and Black lives as subject matter and challenges the idea that Blackness is homogenous. In Cleveland, the exhibition has a unique addition to the photographs on the walls: mannequins dressed in fashionable looks created by three of the stylists represented in the show. Arielle Bobb-Willis and Daniel Obasi, who work both as stylists and photographers, and stylist Jermaine Daley each produce a special look that highlights the important role played by stylists in creating the narratives that audiences consume from fashion and photography. 

Exhibition Tickets 

Adults $12; seniors, students and children ages 6 through 17 $10; children 5 and under and CMA members FREE 

Tickets are expected to book quickly and are not guaranteed. The CMA highly recommends reserving exhibition tickets in advance online by visiting The New Black Vanguard exhibition webpage. Tickets can also be reserved by phone at 216-421-7350 or on-site at one of the ticket desks.

The exhibition is organized by Aperture, New York, and is curated by Antwaun Sargent.

The New Black Vanguard is made possible in part by Airbnb Magazine.

Major support is provided by PNC Bank. Generous support is provided by Donald F. and Anne T. Palmer.

All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous supporter, Dick Blum (deceased) and Harriet Warm, Dr. Ben H. and Julia Brouhard, Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Chapman Jr., the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Michael Frank in memory of Patricia Snyder, the Sam J. Frankino Foundation, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. and Margaret F. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Anne H. Weil, the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art and Claudia C. Woods and David A. Osage.

FRONT International 2022: Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows
Through October 2, 2022
Multivenue exhibition featuring installations at the Cleveland Museum of Art

For the second iteration of FRONT International, the Cleveland Museum of Art has organized six presentations on-site, featuring installations and performances by seven internationally acclaimed contemporary artists. The multivenue FRONT International’s Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows embraces art as an agent of transformation, a mode of healing and a therapeutic process. The title is an homage to the 1957 poem “Two Somewhat Different Epigrams” by Langston Hughes. A tender, brutal and provocative prayer, the poem meditates on the inseparability of joy and suffering. Expanding on Hughes’s invocation, FRONT 2022 explores how art making offers the possibility to transform and heal people—as individuals, as groups and as a society. 

The exhibition features more than 100 regional, national and international artists working across painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photography, video, text, performance and other media, demonstrating how aesthetic pleasure—sharing joy through movement, music, craft and color—can bridge differences between people to bring them together. Spanning over 30 sites in Cleveland, Akron and Oberlin, the exhibition suggests ways that art making can speak with power: by showing people how to recognize and reimagine the invisible structures that govern contemporary life.

CMA FRONT Artists

Maria Hassabi 

Firelei Báez

Nicole Eisenman

Julie Mehretu

Yoshitomo Nara

Matt Eich

Tyler Mitchell 

FRONT exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are presented by Richard and Michelle Jeschelnig, with additional support from the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, Fleischner Family Charitable Foundation, the Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation, and the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is proud to partner with FRONT International. All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Major annual support is provided by the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous supporter, Dick Blum (deceased) and Harriet Warm, Dr. Ben H. and Julia Brouhard, Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Chapman Jr., the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Michael Frank in memory of Patricia Snyder, the Sam J. Frankino Foundation, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. and Margaret F. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, Carl and Lu Anne Morrison, Henry Ott-Hansen, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Resch, Anne H. Weil and Claudia C. Woods and David A. Osage.

Final Weeks!
Medieval Treasures from Münster Cathedral
Through August 14, 2022
Gallery 115
FREE

Gold and silver reliquaries, jeweled crosses, liturgical garments and illuminated manuscripts are among the rare treasures kept in the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Münster, in northwest Germany. Many of Münster’s reliquaries, created between the 1000s and 1500s, were permanently displayed on the altar, while others were brought out only during liturgical celebrations. Medieval Treasures from Münster Cathedral includes eight of these reliquaries.

All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Major annual support is provided by the Estate of Dolores B. Comey and Bill and Joyce Litzler, with generous annual funding from Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Chapman Jr., the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Ms. Arlene Monroe Holden, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. and Margaret F. Lipscomb, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art and Claudia C. Woods and David A. Osage.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is funded in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

This exhibition was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Cycles of Life: The Four Seasons Tapestries
Through February 19, 2023 
Arlene M. and Arthur S. Holden Textile Gallery | Gallery 234
FREE

Cycles of Life: The Four Seasons Tapestries offers visitors an in-depth look at a rare, complete set of tapestries in the museum’s collection that has not been displayed since 1953 because of the tapestries’ fragile condition. Each tapestry depicts seasonal activities: fishing and gardening (Spring), grain harvesting (Summer), wine making (Autumn) and ice skating (Winter). When viewed together, the tapestries represent a full cycle of life.

Art historical research for this exhibition was a collaboration with Case Western Reserve University graduate students in the museum's joint art history graduate program.

Generous support is provided by the Thompson Family Foundation.

All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous supporter, Dick Blum (deceased) and Harriet Warm, Dr. Ben H. and Julia Brouhard, Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Chapman Jr., the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Michael Frank in memory of Patricia Snyder, the Sam J. Frankino Foundation, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. and Margaret F. Lipscomb, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Anne H. Weil and the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The conservation of the Four Seasons tapestries was made possible with support from Emma Lincoln (deceased).

Opening This Month!
Text and Image in Southern Asia
August 26, 2022, to March 5, 2023
Gallery 242B
FREE

Text and Image in Southern Asia proudly displays the illuminated manuscripts from the CMA’s important collection that were translated, identified and dated by Phyllis Granoff, Lex Hixon Professor Emerita of World Religions at Yale University, whose work we honor on the occasion of her recent retirement. Lavish devotional books made for Jain and Buddhist communities are included, with examples from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar (Burma), ranging from the 1100s to 1800s. Complementing the display are Buddhist and Jain paintings, votive sculptures and vintage photographs of temples and sites that are major repositories of medieval manuscripts.  

The Medieval Top Seller: The Book of Hours 
August 26, 2022, to July 30, 2023 
Gallery 115
FREE

A book of hours is a type of devotional book that was extremely popular in the Middle Ages, when an estimated quarter of all households owned one. Books of hours were intended for the vast majority of laypeople and contain daily prayers and those used on special occasions. Fully customizable, these precious volumes are windows into the medieval world and the lives of their original owners. 

Final Weeks!
Martial Art of India
Through August 21, 2022
Gallery 242B
FREE

Scenes of battles and portraits of soldiers in Indian painting include both historical and mythical, real and idealized images—and often in combination. This selection of paintings from the CMA’s permanent collection reveals a range of depictions from historical documents to illustrations of epic tales.

Japan’s Floating World (日本の浮世)
Through October 2, 2022
Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Japanese Art Galleries | Galleries 235A–B
FREE

A significant share of paintings, prints and decorative arts made in Japan from the mid-1700s to mid-1800s captured artists’ responses to urban sex and entertainment districts unofficially known as the ukiyo (浮世), or “floating world.” Ukiyo-e (浮世絵), or “pictures of the floating world,” inspired by these exceptional spaces and their occupants, eschewed the grim realities of sex work, instead marketing beauty, celebrity, pleasure and fashion, often in combination with allusions to famous literature or historical episodes. The term “ukiyo” was repurposed in the late 1600s from its much older use in Buddhism, where it described human frailty in the face of constant change. The new floating world, designed as an escape from the constraints of daily life for male government servants, thrived on ephemeral experiences and suggested a kaleidoscope of enjoyable possibilities. Prints of boating parties on the Sumida River feature in the summer installation (July 12–October 2). The exhibition also presents a feminist work by Oda Mayumi (b. 1941), whose work is rooted in the ukiyo-e tradition.

Creating Urgency: Modern and Contemporary Korean Art
Through October 23, 2022
Korea Foundation Gallery | Gallery 236
FREE

Creating Urgency: Modern and Contemporary Korean Art sparks a stimulating discussion about contemporary Korean artists and their expressive language of defining diasporic artistic identities. Korean-born French painter Ungno Lee (1904–1989) reimagined traditional Korean ink painting and its conventional methods through his exploration of Art Informel (French Abstract Expressionist approaches of the 1940s and ’50s). The Berlin-based Korean artist Haegue Yang (b. 1971), on the other hand, invites the audience to critically explore issues of identity, migration and displacement. The selected works on display share each Korean artist’s experiences and challenges in the global art scene.

Escaping to a Better World: Eccentrics and Immortals in Chinese Art
Through November 6, 2022
Clara T. Rankin Galleries of Chinese Art | Gallery 240A
FREE

In times of a pandemic, migration crises, and frequent natural and humanitarian disasters, the theme of this exhibition may resonate with many of us. In fact, the idea of escaping to a better world has long been part of China’s culture, embedded in the country’s religious and philosophical thinking. China’s legendary eccentrics and immortals often exhibit unconventional appearances and behaviors, expressing supernatural power and a rejection of everyday norms. By doing this, they embody the longing for an ideal world. This installation presents paintings, porcelain and metalwork, all mediums in which these popular figures and their stories were depicted throughout the ages, including today.

Native North America
Through December 4, 2022 
Sarah P. and William R. Robertson Gallery | Gallery 231
FREE

Works on display in the Native North American gallery include a group of objects from the Great Plains—a child’s beaded cradle; a woman’s hair-pipe necklace, one of the most memorable of Plains ornaments; and several beaded or painted bags that served varied purposes. A basket rotation features creations that Timbisha Shoshone (Panamint) weavers of California’s Death Valley made for the early 20th-century collector’s market. Finally, for the first time in at least 20 years, two works by contemporary Inuit artists of the Canadian Arctic make an appearance. One is a 1972 stone-cut print by Alec (Peter) Aliknak Banksland, a founding member of the Holman Eskimo Arts Cooperative, now the Ulukhaktok Arts Centre in Ulukhaktok, Canada.

Ancient Andean Textiles
Through December 4, 2022 
Jon A. Lindseth and Virginia M. Lindseth, PhD, Galleries of the Ancient Americas | Gallery 232
FREE

The textiles represent several different civilizations that flourished in the ancient Andes, today Peru and parts of adjacent countries. Though unrelated by cultural affiliation, they are unified by being special in some way, whether through rarity, complexity of execution or luxuriousness of materials. 

Arts of Africa
Through December 18, 2022
Galleries 108A–C
FREE

Seventeen rarely seen or newly acquired works are installed in the African arts galleries. These 19th- to 21st-century works from northern, central and western Africa support continuing efforts to broaden the scope of African arts on view at the CMA.

Contemporary Installation
Toby’s Gallery for Contemporary Art | Galleries 229A and C
Paula and Eugene Stevens Gallery | Gallery 229B

This installation invites visitors to experience new conversations among works created after 1960 by a diverse range of artists. The Cleveland Museum of Art is honored to feature Kerry James Marshall’s masterpiece Bang (1994), on loan from the Progressive Corporation, in conversation with works from the museum’s collection—including recent acquisitions, such as Rashid Johnson’s Standing Broken Men (2021) and Kambui Olujimi’s Italo (2021), as well as longtime CMA favorites, like Andy Warhol’s Marilyn x 100 (1962). Other highlights of the installation are recently acquired sculptures by Melvin Edwards, a radiant textile by Olga de Amaral that has not been exhibited for many years and special private collection loans by Chris Ofili and Elias Sime. Together, the works on view demonstrate the various perspectives, backgrounds and identities that animate contemporary art. 

On-site Programs

Art and Healing
Saturday, August 20, noon–4 p.m. 
Ames Family Atrium
FREE

Join photographer and artist Amber N. Ford and mindfulness teacher LaToya Kent for a series of drop-in activities and experiences about the therapeutic and restorative possibilities of art and meditation. Share your reflections on art and healing; explore objects from the CMA’s education art collection originally used for prayer, healing, and reflection; and learn the basics of meditation. This event is organized in conjunction with FRONT International’s Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows.

Lunchtime Lecture: The New Black Vanguard: Fashion through Empowerment

Tuesday, August 2, noon
Gartner Auditorium
FREE; ticket required

Utilizing select works in The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion and the CMA’s collection of American, European, and contemporary art and photography, join assistant curator of fashion Darnell-Jamal Lisby as he connects the way various objects across the museum elicit how the artistic interpretation of fashion can empower or disempower different communities based on context and intended audience.

All education programs at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Education. Major annual support is provided by the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Generous annual support is provided by the Sam J. Frankino Foundation, Florence Kahane Goodman, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, and Sally and Larry Sears. Additional annual support is provided by Gail Bowen in memory of Richard L. Bowen, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Chapman Jr., the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Pamela Mascio and the Thompson Family Foundation.

Special Event

City Stages
Wednesdays, August 3 and 10, 7:30 p.m.
In front of Transformer Station
FREE

City Stages, the museum’s acclaimed summer concerts featuring the best in global music, returns with two block parties on consecutive Wednesday evenings in front of Transformer Station, the museum’s sister contemporary art museum.

Before or during the concerts, attendees are encouraged to visit Transformer Station, one of 30 venues across Cleveland, Oberlin and Akron participating in the 2022 edition of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art through October 2. Staff at the PNC Exhibition Hub at Transformer Station will help visitors plan their journeys through 30 sites, where they will encounter the work of more than 100 contemporary artists. Transformer Station is located at 1460 West 29th Street (at the corner of Church Avenue). Normal hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but Transformer Station will remain open until 9 p.m. during City Stages. For more information, visit transformerstation.org. 

Street parking is suggested as available, or the Lutheran Hospital parking lot is located at West 28th Street and Franklin Boulevard. Arrive early and grab dinner and a drink at one of Ohio City’s bars or restaurants or visit one of the local shops. Seating is limited—bring camp chairs and enjoy an evening of music and dancing in the street.

City Stages Schedule
Wednesday, August 3 
Dobet Gnahoré 

Hailing from Côte d’Ivoire, Dobet Gnahoré is a virtuosic singer, dancer, percussionist and songwriter who has taken the modern Afropop sounds of her country in exciting new directions. One of Africa’s brightest stars and most striking talents, Gnahoré uses her words and image to empower a new generation of daring, strong and independent African women. “I want to be able to dance to my music,” asserts Gnahoré. 

Wednesday, August 10
Cimafunk

Named by Billboard as a “Top 10 Latin Artist to Watch,” Cimafunk is making a name for himself as one of today’s great showmen, performing an electric live show with his nine-person band from Havana. Cimafunk masterfully blends Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms with global funk, hip-hop and soul—resulting in a progressive, head-bopping celebration of Black music’s power to eclipse borders and cross-pollinate across cultures. 

On-Site Collection Tours

Guided tours
Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
FREE; ticket required

Join a public tour to learn new perspectives and enjoy great storytelling about works in the museum’s collection. Tours depart from the information desk in the Ames Family Atrium. Tickets may be reserved at cma.org or on-site at the ticket desk. Tours are limited to 15 participants per group.

CMA Community Arts Center On-site Activities 

2937 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113
Free parking in the lot off Castle Avenue | Estacionamiento gratis en la Avenida Castle

Family FUNdays | Día De Alegria Familiar 
Every first Sunday of the month | Cada Primer Domingo del mes, 1–4 p.m.

Enjoy free family fun and explore art celebrating community. This event features family-friendly games, movement-based activities, art making and even a family parade! All activities are COVID conscious and open to all ages and abilities. 

Únase a nosotros para divertirse con familia, mientras exploramos el arte celebrando comunidad. Gratis para participar. Juegos para toda la familia, actividades basadas en movimientos, creación de arte e incluso un desfile familiar. Todas las actividades son conscientes por el covid y abiertas a todos los edades y habilidades.

Open Studio | Al Arte Libre

Every Saturday | Cada Sabado, 1–4 p.m.

Enjoy free, drop-in art making for the whole family. A monthly theme connects community, art and exploration. 

Disfrute actividades de arte gratuita para toda la familia. Un tema mensual conecta la comunidad, el arte y la exploración.

Hours | Horario
Friday, 2–7 p.m. | Viernes, de 2 a 7 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Sábado y Domingo, de 10 a.m. hasta las 5 p.m.
Closed Monday to Thursday | Cerrados Lunes a Jueves

Free drop-in art making and gallery exploration. 

Creación de arte gratuita y exploración de galerías.

Additional Information

The CDC updated its guidelines regarding the need to wear face coverings in public settings for protection against COVID-19. The CMA recommends, but no longer requires visitors to wear a face covering inside the building. 

The CMA’s current hours of operation are Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays. Updated hours will be announced as decided. Visit cma.org to stay up to date on this information.