New exhibition at the Arlington Museum of Art gives women a voice and celebrates empowerment

The Arlington Museum of Art’s new exhibition, “She Said, She Said: Contemporary Artists from the Rubell Museum,” is proof that the museum has never shied away from art that is big in both ideas and size.

One need only look into a room at the centre of the exhibition. Hundreds of kilometres of individual strands of human and horse hair, woven together and bound with leather, hang from the ceiling and are scattered across the floor.

The installation “Catedral” was created by the artist Solange Pessoa over a period of 13 years. It will be on display at the AMA in the fall, where “She Said, She Said” runs from August 17 to November 3.

The exhibition offers an exploration of modern femininity and features works by more than 30 artists – all women. Each work offers a different insight into its creator’s generation, culture, discipline and sexuality, said Kendall Quirk, the museum’s registrar and director of exhibitions.

“We see a lot of men on the walls of museums, the ‘old masters’ and Monet and da Vinci, all these male names,” Quirk said. “So it’s really great to get female perspectives.”

In another room in the museum – Quirk’s personal favorite, she said – dancing silicone sculptures of female figures cast fantastical shadows on the walls. Each figure, representing different facets of modern culture, hides little secrets that artist Casja von Zeipel has worked into their details.

The exhibition is the museum’s third collaboration with the Miami-based Rubell Museum, a private collection opened in 1993 that displays contemporary art from around the world.

“‘She Said, She Said’ underscores our commitment to supporting and promoting artists, showcasing diverse perspectives and illustrating the important contributions of women artists working today,” said Mera Rubell, one of the founders of the Rubell Museum, in a press release.

“She Said, She Said” deals with serious themes, but Quirk doesn’t consider it a “dark exhibition,” she said.

On the contrary, she sees the exhibition as a kind of celebration. In Western social history, the public would not have accepted an art exhibition dedicated exclusively to empowering women’s voices.

The exhibition fits into the Arlington Museum of Art’s broader mission to showcase the community’s diversity, Quirk said.

It is appropriate, Quirk said, to present “She Said, She Said” in parallel with the 2024 presidential election, in which Kamala Harris – the first Black American, first Asian American and first woman to serve as the country’s vice president – ​​will lead the Democratic ticket.

The AMA’s previous collaboration with the Rubell Museum in 2021, “30 Americans,” similarly reflected the year’s political headlines.

This exhibition, which focused on issues of race, sexuality and gender, came to the museum a year after the murder of George Floyd sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

Following the protests in 2020, newer artwork was added to the “30 Americans” to reflect the ever-changing times.

The AMA and the Rubell Museum have been in talks since 2022 to bring “She Said, She Said” to Arlington, Quirk said, but it would not be possible to accommodate such a large exhibition in the museum’s old building in downtown Arlington.

That changed when the museum moved to its new location at the Esports Stadium and Expo Center in Arlington’s Entertainment District, where it offers ample space, she said.

The museum also features the Giant Water Bottle Sculpture Project, a 30-foot-tall sculpture made from over 20,000 water bottles that has traveled throughout Tarrant County. Two other exhibits will open on September 14: “Heroes & Villains: The Art of Disney Costume” and “All That Glitters: The Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney Archives.”

Drew Shaw is a reporter for the Arlington Report. You can reach him at [email protected] or @shawlings601. At The Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy Here.

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