“Love is blind…love is timeless…love is everywhere.” Perhaps you have heard some of these sayings regarding the most powerful and universal of emotions before. The University of Virginia’s Art Museum, The Fralin, thoroughly depicts these clichés in an innovative and exciting way via its exhibition “Summer of Love.”
From the dwindling of final exams on May 13th to the dawn of fall classes on August 7th, The Fralin is showcasing and celebrating the magic of love and its meaning to artists and cultures throughout history. Despite the fact that the collection includes works from hundreds of years ago, “Summer of Love” is surprisingly contemporary and consequently, pertinent to local art-goers. Given that the University of Virginia is home to approximately twenty thousand college students and is therefore a hub for love and romantic activity, the literal and figurative beauty of this collection is that it genuinely speaks to the UVa community. The exhibition for example, includes pieces that not only display traditional mythological romances, but also works about unrestrained indulgence, playful partnerships, and jealousy. Additionally, the works feature modern same-sex relationships.
“Summer of Love” was co-curated by the museum’s Barringer-Linder Curatorial Fellow Alicia Dissinger and Curator of Exhibitions and Co-Interim Director Rebecca Schoenthal. The exhibition aims to entice its admirers and invite them to appreciate the love-focused pieces themselves. In doing so, “Summer of Love” seeks to inspire “Art Lovers” across the grounds of UVa.
For the less romance-indulged, The Fralin will also feature the exhibits “Andy Warhol: Icons” and “Casting Shadows” this summer.
#FralinSummerofLove
