Exhibition Press Information»

Future Exhibitions

The Red that Colored the World
In the Hispanic Heritage Wing & Cotsen galleries
Opening May 17, 2015
From Antiquity to today, as symbol and hue, red has risen to the pinnacle of the color spectrum. Throughout art history, a broad red brushstroke has colored the finest art and expressions of daily life. Yet, while most people know red, few know of its most prolific and enduring source: American Cochineal, a tiny scaled insect that produces carminic acid. Fewer still know the story behind its explosive global spread after its first encounter by Spain in 16th century Mexico. Cochineal can already be demonstrated as a commonly used colorant in painting, sculpture, furniture and textiles from the mid 16th through the mid-19th century, when synthetic pigments were invented. The exhibition is not restricted to folk art and will include manuscripts, paintings, sculpture, textiles and furniture from pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial Mexico, Peru and New Mexico; European paintings, textiles and clothing; and textiles from Asia, India and the Middle East, along with selections from the collection at the Museum of International Folk Art. Integrating a variety of interactive, visitor friendly features and didactic materials, visitors are invited to look through the centuries to consider the central role of color in art, history and culture- as well as in their own lives. [Photo: Colcha Embroidery, Altar Cloth-detail. Nina Arroyo Wood, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2013. Handspun New Mexico churro wool with vegetal dyes and cochineal, 15" x 451/4". Museum of International Folk Art, IFAF Collection (FA.2013.42.1) Photo by Blair Clark]
The Red That Colored The World exhibition has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, and Hotel Santa Fe The Hacienda and Spa, and Newman’s Own Foundation; see all exhibition sponsors»


! Flamenco!
in the Hispanic Heritage Wing
Sunday November 22, 2015
to September 5, 2016
Known as a folkloric art form that began among the Gypsy people of southern Spain, various influences have contributed to Flamenco from Phoenician and Roman times, through Islamic rule, to the early Christian period in Spain. The exhibition traces Flamenco to it's arrival in the United States, and it's rise as an International art form enjoyed by millions. The exhibition will feature costumes, play bills, instruments, paintings, and will be complemented by lectures, workshops and performances.


Blessings & Good Fortune:
Amulets, Offerings and Rituals from Asia
In the Cotsen Gallery, Neutrogena Wing
December 20, 2015 to March 19, 2016

What more can we ask than for blessings and good fortune? God, deities, nature spirits and other unseen forces exist in human belief, which can bring both great harm and great fortune to people on earth. Almost universally, yet through varied means and belief systems, people have found ways to connect with these powers to bring stability to their lives, to divert ill-will and harm, and to attract love, fertility, prosperity, longevity, and safety. . . essentially, to harness protection, blessings and good fortune for themselves, their loved ones, and their communities.

This exhibit invites visitors to explore some of the ways in which people seek and secure blessings and good fortune in Asia, a vast and culturally diverse region. Presented are amulets, votive offerings, and ritual objects- objects with other-worldly, divine qualities. These intricate and thoughtfully made works of art are drawn mostly from the museum's Asian collection and are exhibited together with unique media and engaging interactive gallery components.

Blessings and Good Fortune reflects wide-ranging practices of belief that, at the same time, depict the common human need or desire to attain balance and harmony in the physical and spiritual realms of life. [Photo: Ancestor Spirit House, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo by Felicia Katz-Harris].