“Cats!” at the Figge Art Museum --June 21 through January 4.
Saturday, June 21, through Sunday, January 4
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
A dazzling, visually rich celebration of fascinating felines and the artists who love them, Cats! (the exhibit, not the musical) can be viewed in the third-floor gallery of Davenport's Figge Art Museum from June 21 through January 4, this rich showcase inspired by our four-legged friends boasting works from both the museum's collection and on loan, and on display through the aid of contributing sponsors Carrie Kimple and Sue Quail.
Beloved by many humans for their mischievous nature, companionship, and beauty, cats have been featured prominently in the visual art of various cultures – whether transformed into Ancient Egyptian deities or as the subject of internet memes – and they continue to act as artistic muses. The Cats! exhibition will explore artwork featuring felines in a range of mediums, including printmaking, sculpture, paintings, and video, with a special section focusing on their wild counterparts. Visitors will be encouraged to participate in interactive elements showing how our furry (and sometimes non-furry) friends continue to inspire us.
Davenport's Figge Art Museum is the premier art exhibition and education facility between Chicago and Des Moines. Its landmark glass building on the banks of the Mississippi River, designed by British architect David Chipperfield, is home to one of the Midwest’s finest art collections, and presents world-class traveling exhibitions. Its studios, auditorium and spacious lobby are alive with art classes, lectures and special events that attract visitors of all ages.
The Figge was formed as the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery in 1925, with the passage of a law allowing the city to accept of a gift of 334 artworks from a former mayor, Charles A. Ficke, and open a museum. It was renamed the Davenport Museum of Art in 1987. It continued to be a city-run museum until the opening of its new building in 2005, which was named in honor of a major gift from the V.O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Foundation. At that time, the city transferred responsibility for management, care and exhibition of its collection to the Figge Art Museum, a nonprofit organization. Ficke’s original collection of European, American and Spanish Viceregal art has grown through the efforts of generations of philanthropists and civic leaders and now includes the Grant Wood Archive and works by other American Regionalist artists, an extensive collection of Haitian art, and contemporary works. The Figge is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Cats! will be on display in the Davenport museum's third-floor gallery from June 21 through January 4, with regular museum hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays (10 a.m. to 8 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.
