Come Closer: Selections from the Collection, 1978–1994

Come Closer: Selections from the Collection, 1978–1994 presents artworks from the Colby Museum’s collection that explore the relationship between the personal and the political. During this period, artists reflected upon urgent current events and social issues such as gender equality, racial justice, technological advancements, sexual freedom, and the AIDS crisis. The featured artists confronted these monumental and explosive issues with tenderness and intimacy while also formally experimenting and pushing the boundaries of their mediums. By looking back on some of the critical artists and ideas from the “long 1980s,” Come Closer demonstrates the ongoing relevance of this history to our contemporary moment.

This exhibition is part of a sustained effort by the Colby Museum to activate its collection and use it to present new narratives. Come Closer highlights collection strengths such as Elizabeth Murray’s monumental Cracked Question (1987), Jenny Holzer’s emotionally charged Under a Rock: Crack the Pelvis (1986), and poignant prints by Frank Moore, Robert Indiana, and Terry Winters. It also provides an opportunity to display work by under-recognized but important figures such as Claude Lawrence and Lenore Tawney; to show exciting new acquisitions; and to display some objects from the collection that have rarely or never yet been exhibited.