Yasumasa Morimura (Japanese, born 1951), Self-portrait as a Prodigal Son, 1994, Chromogenic print on canvas, 67 ¾ x 54 1/3, Friends of Art Acquisition Fund, 2026.6 © Yasumasa Morimura
Through Sunday, September 20
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Bringing together contemporary artists responding to the themes and aesthetics explored in the Davenport venue's concurrent exhibition The Golden Age: Featuring Northern European Works from the National Gallery of Art, the Figge Art Museum's A Golden Age for Whom? will be on display through September 20, the two exhibitions' adjoining galleries allowing visitors to move directly between historic works and contemporary responses.
The exhibition aims to foster a richer conversation about how Renaissance and Baroque styles and narratives continue to shape artists today, while also highlighting the ways contemporary artists critically engage with the histories, power structures, and inequities embedded in early modern patronage and society. A Golden Age for Whom? will feature both loans and works from the Figge’s collection, including pieces by Beth Lipman, Oliver Okolo, Yasumasa Morimura, Fabiola Jean-Louis, and others who reimagine historical styles and imagery in thought-provoking ways.
A Golden Age for Whom? puts contemporary artworks in conversation with historic masterpieces to explore how art from the Renaissance and Baroque periods still influences artists today. The exhibition also examines larger questions connected to these works, including who held power, who was represented in art, and whose stories were often left out during that time in history.
By connecting contemporary perspectives with historic works, A Golden Age for Whom? encourages visitors to think about whose stories have traditionally been highlighted in museums and whose voices may have been overlooked. Figge Co-Senior Curator Joshua Johnson stated, “While The Golden Age celebrates extraordinary artistic achievement, A Golden Age for Whom? invites visitors to think more critically about the inequities and social structures tied to the creation of Renaissance and Baroque art, and the ways those histories continue to shape our world today.”
A Golden Age for Whom? will be on view in the Davenport museum's Gildehaus Gallery through September 20, with regular museum hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays (10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays) and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Museum admission is $8-14, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.
