The Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts (MoFA) this semester presents three exhibitions that explore themes of nature, love and form.
The exhibitions underscore the MoFA mission of connecting FSU and the broader community to the arts.
“Since its establishment in 1971, MoFA has been a major contributor to the region’s arts community and has served FSU and the community-at-large free of charge,” said James Frazier, dean of FSU’s College of Fine Arts. “As an exhibiting and collecting entity, MoFA houses and displays historical and contemporary works, which we share and make accessible through creative and enlightening programming. In this way, it serves as a gateway into the world of art and FSU.”
The museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
All MoFA exhibits are free and open to the public.
“It’s A Lot Like Falling in Love: Legacies of Naiad Press and the Tallahassee Lesbian Community”
MoFA Walmsley Gallery
Now through Oct. 29
When Naiad Press — a woman-run and Tallahassee-based publishing company — closed its doors in 2003, it was one of the country’s largest publishers of lesbian fiction and nonfiction literature. To give visitors a comprehensive look into Naiad’s legacy and the history of Tallahassee’s LGBT community, FSU Libraries and the FSU Honors Program collaborated to create this exhibit.
The exhibit draws from interviews, personal photographs, local news coverage, an exhibition-lending library and other historical documents and objects collected by Michael Franklin, a specialized faculty member in the Honors Program, and students in his LGBTQ Oral History Methods class.
“The oral histories collected by Franklin and his students are important additions to the record, but their process of collaboration also models the kind of community that Naiad envisioned,” said Meredith Lynn, curator and interim director of MoFA. “We’re honored to be able to bring this work to our audiences.”
This exhibition is made possible through funding by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program and a Project Enhancement Network & Incubator grant from FSU Libraries for the purchase of the Naiad Press books in the exhibition library.
“Shape Shifting: 35 Years of Late Modernist Prints”
MoFA Lower Gallery
Now through Dec. 10
This exhibit explores the flourishing printmaking scene of the mid-to-late-20th century. Featuring selections from MoFA’s Permanent Collection, “Shape Shifting” includes the abstract, brightly colored and geometric styles that became synonymous with late modern art movements such as pop, pop art and abstract expressionism. This show also includes new acquisitions by Edival Ramosa, José Luis Rochet, Domingo López and Elí Barreto. Visitors can create abstract compositions at an in-gallery maker’s station.
“Seeing people of all ages having fun in the museum is always a pleasure,” said Annie Booth, curatorial assistant and visitor engagement coordinator at MoFA. “This exhibition, in particular, has enabled our visitors to think about the art-making process and experiment on their own.”
“Boundless Terrain”
MoFA Upper Galleries
Now through Dec. 10 with an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25
“Boundless Terrain” explores the natural world as a site of connection across time and space through video, photography, sculpture and installation.
“We are thrilled to be opening ‘Boundless Terrain,’” Lynn said. “We began this project during the pandemic when the outdoors became an even more integral site of community building for so many of us. The landscape has always been a source of inspiration for artists, and the work in this show expands upon traditional approaches to representing the natural world to consider how places bring us together.”
“Boundless Terrain” will feature the work of Tiffany Shaw, Doug Baulos, Sky Hopinka, Allison Janae Hamilton, Shoog McDaniel, Caroline Monnet, Laura Ortman, Erin Ethridge and Colleen Marie Foley, as well as selected works from MoFA’s Permanent Collection.
As part of the exhibit, MoFA will provide guides, maps and other resources to educate visitors about outdoor activities in the Tallahassee area and to encourage people to spend more time outdoors.
Throughout the fall, MoFA will host a series of free public programs in connection with the exhibition, including lectures by the artists, makers, events and workshops.
For more information, visit mofa.fsu.edu.
