Arranged: Recent Acquisitions of Modern and Contemporary Paintings

Taking its title from a newly acquired work by Peter Halley, Arranged brings together a varied selection of over thirty recent acquisitions of modern and contemporary paintings by twenty-two artists. Following similar exhibitions highlighting new additions to the collection of photographs (PhotoVision, 2014), modern prints and portfolios (One of Many, 2017), and drawings (Drawing Attention, 2021), Arranged offers a diverse range of significant paintings from the 1950s to the present that have entered the Ackland’s collection by gift, promised gift, and purchase over the past half-dozen years. Twelve of the works are on view for the first time.

Highlights will include works by UNC-Chapel Hill alums Frank Faulkner, Herb Jackson (with two paintings each), and Mark Brown; a powerful group of Color Field works by Jules Olitski and other painters of his generation such as Stanley Boxer, Jack Bush, and Friedel Dzubas; and individual paintings by Greg Drasler, Jeff Elrod, Shanequa Gay, John Gibson, Peter Halley, Reggie Burrows Hodges, Val Lewton, Allan McCollum, Beverly McIver, and Philip Taaffe. The Ackland has also collected internationally, and Arranged presents works by Etel Adnan (Lebanon), Esther Mahlangu (South Africa), Pinaree Sanpitak (Thailand), Aníbal Villacis (Ecuador), and John Walker (Great Britain).

Arranged was organized by Peter Nisbet, deputy director for curatorial affairs, and is made possible by the generous support of Laura and Walter Elcock.

Image credit: Peter Halley, American, born 1953, Arranged, 2007, acrylic, fluorescent acrylic, and Roll-a-Tex on canvas, 82 × 67 in. (208.3 × 170.2 cm). Ackland Fund, 2020.20. © 2024 Peter Halley.