GEORGIA O’KEEFfE COMES TO N.C.

“There’s an amazing continuity in Georgia O’Keeffe’s aesthetic. She was never happenstance: how she dressed for the camera and for interviews, and being so selective in what she put into her homes and what she wore. She followed the Arts and Crafts ethos, and also the Asian idea that there’s no reason why all aspects of your life can’t be beautiful, if you’re really careful and selective and simple. She grew a lot of her own food, and made many of her clothes. She was unbelievably intentional and careful.”

– Phil Archer, Betsy Main Babcock Director of Program and Interpretation,
Reynolda House Museum of American Art

 

The Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem will mount a remarkable Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition Aug. 18 – Nov. 19. Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern features more than 190 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and personal objects that explore how the artist created an image of herself through her iconic paintings, her wardrobe, and her homes. The exhibit debuted at the Brooklyn Museum earlier this year, where it earned praise by The New York Times and Vogue. When it arrives at the historic-home-turned-museum in Winston-Salem this summer, it will be the exhibit’s only stop in the Southeast.

“Reynolda House is a twentieth century house created by women who embraced modernism – to a different degree than O’Keeffe, but modernism all the same,” Archer says. “O’Keeffe relates to the basic idea behind Reynolda, which is to live the ideal healthy life with family and friends and nature; to simplify life and fill it with as much beauty as possible.” The exhibit explores this “more tangible sense of her physicality,” Archer says, but also includes “recognizable large floral paintings and Southwestern mountain scenes.” Living Modern kicks off Reynolda House’s centennial year, Archer says. “I really can’t think of a more perfect artist to do so.”

Tickets are available in advance online at reynoldahouse.org/livingmodern.