Disrupt the View: Arlene Shechet at the Harvard Art Museums

July 1, 2022–July 6, 2025 By presenting her recent work alongside historical German, Japanese, and Chinese examples, sculptor <a href="https://www.arleneshechet.net/">Arlene Shechet</a> encourages us to look anew at works of porcelain and other objects from the Harvard Art Museums. Decorative arts are typically displayed in museum galleries dedicated to the same culture and period, often in isolation from other media. In Disrupt the View, however, Shechet draws on her past collaborations with porcelain manufactory workers to speak to a larger history, recontextualizing these remarkable objects as both handmade and industrially manufactured, painterly and sculptural. Invented by Chinese potters in the Tang Dynasty (618–903 CE), porcelain later became one of the first global luxury products. It was at first available in Europe only to the wealthiest patrons, but by the late 17th century, millions of porcelain objects were being imported each year by the Dutch East India Company. European porcelain production was driven by courtly ambition in competition with Asian markets, and its artisans, who created these objects for lavish celebrations, were largely unknown. The story of porcelain, then, is one of labor, class, and global trade. In 1710, the German porcelain manufactory Meissen was founded, and significant examples of its 18th-century tableware and figurines are now in the Busch-Reisinger Museum collection. Many of these objects have rarely, if ever, been shown. Among other objects, Shechet has created an unparalleled installation that includes two constellations of tableware that emphasize the unique material qualities of plates as sculptural design. Visible from the exterior of the museums, these arrangements, like the painted decoration on the individual plates, invite the outside in and—literally and metaphorically—disrupt the view.

Harvard Art Museums

Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking at Harvard Art Museums

Discover the experimental methods of Edvard Munch, who creatively explored materials and techniques across media. A dynamic collaboration between curatorial and conservation experts at the Harvard Art Museums, Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking offers rare insight into the Norwegian artist’s innovative techniques and the recurring themes across his paintings, woodcuts, lithographs, etchings, and combination prints. The Harvard Art Museums house one of the largest and most significant collections of artwork by Munch in the United States, and the exhibition showcases roughly 70 works, including key loans from Munchmuseet, Oslo. Visitors are invited to explore Munch’s artistic process, uncovering his playful approach and fascination with materiality. He returned to some themes repeatedly during his lifetime, carrying motifs across printmaking and painting and demonstrating how a single idea can evoke different responses through shifts in color and orientation. In the exhibition, prints are displayed alongside the original copper plates, woodblocks, and lithography stones used to create them, providing further access into Munch’s experimental practice. Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking also features groundbreaking research that sheds new light on the artist’s techniques and processes. Curated by Elizabeth M. Rudy, Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints, and Lynette Roth, Daimler Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum; with Peter Murphy, Stefan Engelhorn Curatorial Fellow in the Busch-Reisinger Museum. Research in collaboration with Ellen Davis, Associate Paintings Conservator, Penley Knipe, Philip and Lynn Straus Senior Conservator of Works on Paper and Head of the Paper Lab, Abby Schleicher, Assistant Paper Conservator, and Kate Smith, Senior Conservator of Paintings and Head of the Paintings Lab, all in the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies; and with contributions from Cambra Sklarz, Diane and Michael Maher Curatorial Fellow of American Art, and Kacper Kolęda and Tai Mitsuji, Ph.D. candidates in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University.

The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond

Explore a remarkable collection of artworks that span the centuries and discover how it was assembled over seven decades. The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond&nbsp;celebrates a significant recent bequest to the Harvard Art Museums from passionate collectors Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon. The exhibition spotlights over 135 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by some of the most significant artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and offers visitors an intimate view into the highly personal yet inherently collaborative nature of art collecting. The artists featured span six centuries and include virtuoso printmakers, from the pioneers of engraving such as Hans Sebald Beham, Martin Schongauer, and Albrecht Dürer to inventive painter-etchers like Salvator Rosa, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes; provocateurs of 19th-century painting such as Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Géricault, Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Paul Cézanne; groundbreaking sculptors like Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Henry Moore, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, David Smith, and Anthony Caro; trailblazers of abstraction like Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, and Larry Poons; and stalwart Boston artists Marjorie Minkin and Peter Lipsitt. An accompanying&nbsp;<a href="https://shop.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/frontpage/products/the-solomon-collection-durer-to-degas-and-beyond">print catalogue</a>&nbsp;highlights works in the Solomon Collection with entries written by curators, former and current postdoctoral fellows, and Harvard faculty and graduate students. The volume also includes a history of the couple’s lifelong engagement with art and the dealers, professors, and curators who helped inform their collecting.

Harvard Art Musseums

Exhibition Tour: Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking

Join us for an in-depth, hour-long tour of our special exhibition&nbsp;<a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6407/edvard-munch-technically-speaking">Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking</a>&nbsp;(March 7–July 27, 2025), led by an exhibition curator. A dynamic collaboration between curatorial and conservation experts at the Harvard Art Museums,&nbsp;Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking&nbsp;offers rare insight into the Norwegian artist’s innovative techniques and the recurring themes across his paintings, woodcuts, lithographs, etchings, and combination prints. The Harvard Art Museums house one of the largest and most significant collections of artwork by Munch in the United States, and the exhibition showcases roughly 70 works, including key loans from Munchmuseet in Oslo, Norway. Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the tour. Tours are limited to 18 people and are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Join us for an in-depth, hour-long tour of our special exhibition&nbsp;<a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6407/edvard-munch-technically-speaking">Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking</a>&nbsp;(March 7–July 27, 2025), led by an exhibition curator. A dynamic collaboration between curatorial and conservation experts at the Harvard Art Museums,&nbsp;Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking&nbsp;offers rare insight into the Norwegian artist’s innovative techniques and the recurring themes across his paintings, woodcuts, lithographs, etchings, and combination prints. The Harvard Art Museums house one of the largest and most significant collections of artwork by Munch in the United States, and the exhibition showcases roughly 70 works, including key loans from Munchmuseet in Oslo, Norway. Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the tour. Space is limited, and tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Gallery Talk: Disrupt the View

In her installation&nbsp;<a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6177/disrupt-the-view-arlene-shechet-at-the-harvard-art-museums">Disrupt the View: Arlene Shechet at the Harvard Art Museums</a>, on view through July 6, 2025, contemporary sculptor Arlene Shechet presents her recent work alongside historical German, Japanese, and Chinese porcelain objects from the Harvard Art Museums collections. Join curator Lynette Roth as she talks about Shechet’s artistic process, her collaborations with German porcelain manufactory workers, and how the artist recontextualized these remarkable objects to speak to the larger history of labor, class, and global trade. Led by: <a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/about/staff/33">Lynette Roth</a>, Daimler Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, Division of Modern and Contemporary Art Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the gallery talk. Space is limited, and talks are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Harvard Art Museums at Night

Join us for an evening of art, fun, food, and more! This event is free and open to everyone. We’re celebrating the launch of our new publication <a href="https://shop.harvardartmuseums.org/products/harvard-art-museums-in-your-hands">Harvard Art Museums: In Your Hands</a> as well as the return of Vincent van Gogh’s <a href="https://hvrd.art/o/299843">Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin</a>, which had been on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gather with friends and mingle inside our Italian-inspired courtyard while taking in the smooth sounds from DJ C-Zone. Browse the museum shop and chat over a snack or drink for purchase from local vendors, such as Idle Hands Craft Ales and Cocobelly Bites. Head down to the Lower Level to make art in the Materials Lab. Take a Spotlight Tour in the galleries and afterward wander the rest of the collections—there are over 50 galleries to explore! Don’t miss the acclaimed exhibition <a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6407/edvard-munch-technically-speaking">Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking</a>, which closes July 27, before the next At Night! There will be activities throughout the evening and a chance to win lots of prizes. Harvard Art Museums at Night takes place the last Thursday of every month (holidays permitting), from 5 to 9pm. Each night features a new mix of local talent and community partners to make this a festive occasion for all. When arriving, enter via Quincy Street. In inclement weather, please use the Prescott entrance as it provides extra shelter. <a href="https://secure.touchnet.net/C20832_ustores/web/store_cat.jsp?STOREID=99&amp;CATID=281&amp;SINGLESTORE=true">Advance registration</a> is encouraged, but walk-in visitors are always welcome. Please note that space may be limited due to capacity. Registration opens two weeks before the event.

Gallery Talk: The Artist’s Toolbox—Experiments with Color in the Solomon Collection

Join Erica Lawton to learn about the unusual tools artists used to make some of the colorful abstract works featured in the exhibition&nbsp;<a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6477/the-solomon-collection-durer-to-degas-and-beyond">The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond</a>&nbsp;(May 24–August 17, 2025). The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond&nbsp;celebrates a significant recent bequest to the Harvard Art Museums from passionate collectors Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon. The exhibition spotlights over 135 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by some of the most significant artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and offers visitors an intimate view into the highly personal yet inherently collaborative nature of art collecting. Led by: <a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/about/staff/176">Erica Lawton</a>, Administrative Coordinator, Director’s Office Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the gallery talk. Space is limited, and talks are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Second Saturdays Story Time

Join us for a Pride-filled Second Saturdays Story Time with Harley Queen, the self-proclaimed Worcester’s Favorite Drag Queen! This reading will include a selection of inclusive and diverse books to make everyone feel welcome at the museum! We hope you can join us! Harley Queen&nbsp;is an award-winning showrunner for Harley’s Funhouse. Since becoming Ms. Gay Worcester in 2019, she has consistently been performing story times for Pride month in the city. She is the illustrator for the children’s book&nbsp;I Don’t Know, written by Kristy Kielbasinski. Please note that the selected books are geared toward children aged 3 to 7. Caregivers must be present with their children for the duration of the event. Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the event. The readings are limited to 18 people and are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Gallery Talk: A Universal Vision—Creative Synthesis of European Prints and Indian Paintings at the Mughal Court

European prints became a key source of inspiration for artists at the courts of Akbar (r. 1556–1605) and Jahangir (r. 1605–27) in northern India. Mughal painters adopted this foreign vocabulary but made it their own by incorporating local style and techniques and by adding iconographic elements that would be meaningful to a pluralistic audience. The result of this innovative synthesis is not merely a Europeanized mode of painting but a vision linked to Akbar’s religious universalism and the global connections of the Mughal court. Curatorial fellow Janet O’Brien will guide visitors through a new installation in Gallery&nbsp;<a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/visit/floor-plan/2/2400">2400</a>&nbsp;that features Mughal paintings and drawings that capture this new visual idiom. This gallery talk is part of our New on View series, highlighting recent gallery installations and presenting new insights into recent acquisitions or old favorites. Led by: <a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/about/staff/401">Janet O’Brien</a>, Calderwood Curatorial Fellow in South Asian and Islamic Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the gallery talk. Space is limited, and talks are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Gallery Talk: Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s Head of a Thinker

Join curatorial fellow Peter Murphy for an in-depth discussion of Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s Head of a Thinker (1918), which will consider the work in the context of World War I. The sculpture is featured in the exhibition&nbsp;<a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6477/the-solomon-collection-durer-to-degas-and-beyond">The Solomon Collection: From Dürer to Degas and Beyond</a>&nbsp;(May 24–August 17, 2025). The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond&nbsp;celebrates a significant recent bequest to the Harvard Art Museums from passionate collectors Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon. The exhibition spotlights over 135 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by some of the most significant artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and offers visitors an intimate view into the highly personal yet inherently collaborative nature of art collecting. Led by: <a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/about/staff/366">Peter Murphy</a>, Stefan Engelhorn Curatorial Fellow in the Busch-Reisinger Museum, Division of Modern and Contemporary Art Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the gallery talk. Space is limited, and talks are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Exhibition Tour: The Solomon Collection: From Dürer to Degas and Beyond

Join us for an in-depth, hour-long tour of our special exhibition <a href="https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6477/the-solomon-collection-durer-to-degas-and-beyond">The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond</a> (May 24–August 17, 2025), led by one of the exhibition curators. The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond celebrates a significant recent bequest to the Harvard Art Museums from passionate collectors Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon. The exhibition spotlights over 135 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by some of the most significant artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and offers visitors an intimate view into the highly personal yet inherently collaborative nature of art collecting. Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the tour. Space is limited, and tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

Experience the Harvard Art Museums’ historical collections through fresh eyes in a one-of-a kind installation by contemporary American sculptor Arlene Shechet. By presenting her recent work alongside historical German, Japanese, and Chinese examples, sculptor <a href="https://www.arleneshechet.net/">Arlene Shechet</a> encourages us to look anew at works of porcelain and other objects from the Harvard Art Museums. Decorative arts are typically displayed in museum galleries dedicated to the same culture and period, often in isolation from other media. In Disrupt the View, however, Shechet draws on her past collaborations with porcelain manufactory workers to speak to a larger history, recontextualizing these remarkable objects as both handmade and industrially manufactured, painterly and sculptural. Invented by Chinese potters in the Tang Dynasty (618–903 CE), porcelain later became one of the first global luxury products. It was at first available in Europe only to the wealthiest patrons, but by the late 17th century, millions of porcelain objects were being imported each year by the Dutch East India Company. European porcelain production was driven by courtly ambition in competition with Asian markets, and its artisans, who created these objects for lavish celebrations, were largely unknown. The story of porcelain, then, is one of labor, class, and global trade. In 1710, the German porcelain manufactory Meissen was founded, and significant examples of its 18th-century tableware and figurines are now in the Busch-Reisinger Museum collection. Many of these objects have rarely, if ever, been shown. Among other objects, Shechet has created an unparalleled installation that includes two constellations of tableware that emphasize the unique material qualities of plates as sculptural design. Visible from the exterior of the museums, these arrangements, like the painted decoration on the individual plates, invite the outside in and—literally and metaphorically—disrupt the view.

28th Annual Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film Festival

Join us for the Cambridge Art Center’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovnAuvAYh74">28th Annual Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film Festival</a>, the longest-running youth film festival in the country. A panel discussion with the teen filmmakers and a short reception in the Calderwood Courtyard will follow the screening. The teen crew has been hard at work, thoughtfully curating a selection of films to create an enjoyable and thought-provoking anthology. This inspiring evening will showcase a diverse range of stories that highlight different cultures, perspectives, and experiences, created by young filmmakers from across the globe. Don’t miss the opportunity to engage with filmmakers after the screening and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of this community gathering. Bring your friends and family to celebrate the power of storytelling and the future of cinema! Free admission, but seating is limited, and registration is encouraged. You can register by clicking on the event <a href="https://secure.touchnet.net/C20832_ustores/web/store_cat.jsp?STOREID=99&amp;CATID=276&amp;SINGLESTORE=true">on this form</a>, beginning Friday, April 25, at 10am. The event will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Doors will open at 5:30pm. Limited complimentary parking is available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.

S22: conversations

Wondering what to do in Boston? Places to eat? Free activities? Good for a group? Date night spot? Girls night out? The best things to do? Ask Joyraft!

Best places to go in Boston? Things to do? Places to eat?

Questions & answers about things to do in Boston

Recs 💬

Community recs 💬

S4: top picks

The most fun, cool and unique things to do in Boston. Can’t miss events, shows and experiences. Concerts, restaurants, bars, free things in Boston and beyond.

The most fun and cool events happening around Boston

Hot and new things to do in Boston

Hot & new

Hot & new 🔥

S11: happening this weekend

What to do in Boston this weekend? From festivals, concerts, performances, free events, screenings and more, Joyraft has the best things to do in Boston.

25+ things to do in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville this weekend

Things to do in Boston this weekend

This wknd

This weekend for you

S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

Top picks of the best things to do in and around Boston

Joyraft picks: Boston’s best things to do

Roundups ⭐️

Curated by Joyraft ⭐️

S28: calendar experiences

This week in Boston

This week in Boston 📆

This week 📆

S20: c+d experiences

Discover new, unique events and experiences happening in and around Boston. Perfect for date night, good for a group or with a friend. Be the first to know.

The newest events happening in and around Boston

The newest events on Joyraft

Just added

Just added to Joyraft

S16: editor picks

The most unique and can’t miss things coming up in Boston / Cambridge / Somerville and beyond. Festivals, food, drinks, fairs, concerts, art and free activities.

Unique and Can’t Miss Things to Do in Boston

Can’t-miss things to do in Boston 🚨

Can't-miss things to do 🚨

S2 (A): top experiences

The most popular things to do on Joyraft. Concerts, restaurants, bars, events, parties, openings, kid friendly, date ideas, free things in Boston and beyond.

Top 20 things to do in Boston

Top 20: Joyraft’s most popular

Top 20

Top 20 on Joyraft

S3 (A): trending experiences

Discover can’t miss events and things to do in Boston. The most fun, unique and cool events coming to the Boston area this spring and summer.

The hottest events happening in Boston

Trending events on Joyraft

Trending 📈

S17: interest based

Your guide to everything free in and around Boston. From events, to fairs, to festivals, to outdoors. Joyraft has all the free events happening near you.

100+ free things to do in Boston and beyond

Free things to do in Boston

Free things to do

S19: interest based

Kid-friendly events in Boston

S18: interest based

Where to eat and drink in Boston? Joyraft has Boston’s newest bars, restaurants and specials. Drinks and pre fixe dinner menus. Cambridge & Somerville too.

harvardartmuseums

Experiences

Disrupt the View: Arlene Shechet at the Harvard Art Museums

Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking at Harvard Art Museums

The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond

Exhibition Tour: Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking

Exhibition Tour: Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking

Gallery Talk: Disrupt the View

Harvard Art Museums at Night

Gallery Talk: The Artist’s Toolbox—Experiments with Color in the Solomon Collection

Second Saturdays Story Time

Gallery Talk: A Universal Vision—Creative Synthesis of European Prints and Indian Paintings at the Mughal Court

Gallery Talk: Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s Head of a Thinker

Exhibition Tour: Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking

Exhibition Tour: The Solomon Collection: From Dürer to Degas and Beyond

Disrupt the View: Arlene Shechet at the Harvard Art Museums

28th Annual Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film Festival