About the Exhibition

Contemporary artists are often obsessed with the new, but they also center their creations on research and delving into art history, all in the name of seeking various truths. Artists use their work in a range ways, from trying to understand how those before them saw the world to telling today’s art audiences what their predecessors got right and wrong. By drawing mostly from the College’s contemporary art collection with expert help from art history faculty, Art History Selects explores how artist’s working today find inspiration and source material in art of the past. 

 Art History Selects is presented in conjunction with Then, Now, Next: 50 Years of Women at Providence College. The exhibition’s design celebrates the faculty and intellectual rigor of Providence College’s Art History while also showcasing a small selection of collected artworks made by artists who identify as women and gender non-binary. Moreover, statements from each faculty member reflect on the important roles art history and the art of today play in helping us understand the world around us.

Art History Selects is organized by Jamilee Lacy, PCG’s Director and Chief Curator, with assistance from PC/PCG staff Scott Alario, Elizabeth Corkery, Angela Crenshaw and Matthew Patrei, as well as current students Zari Apodaca (PC ‘ 23) and Daniel Carrero (PC ’23). The exhibition is supported by Providence College’s Art & Art History Department, Office of Academic Affairs and School of Arts & Sciences. The interpretive texts on display were produced with support from the Institute of Museum & Library Sciences.

Installation Images