Welcome to the UK Art Museum

WELCOME
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The University of Kentucky Art Museum, part of the UK College of Fine Arts, promotes the understanding and appreciation of art from diverse cultures and historical periods, providing meaningful encounters for audiences of all ages. Through our temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and permanent collection of approximately 5000 objects, we are a resource for the campus community and a cultural destination for citizens of the Commonwealth and beyond.  Our Free Admission policy removes any financial obstacle that might stand in the way of opportunities for contemplation and connection.

We are proud to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, meeting standards for excellence and professional practices.

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Edward Fisk, Woman in a Red Hat, 1921, oil on canvas. Courtesy of the family of Edward Fisk.

Edward Fisk: Legacies

Join us in celebrating the art and life of the American modernist Edward Fisk, who left New York City in September 1926 for a more peaceful life in Lexington and a teaching position at the University of Kentucky. In Greenwich Village and Provincetown, Massachusetts, Fisk was at the heart of the…

Susan Silas, EYES WIDE SHUT from the series found birds, 2010, archival inkjet print on Hahnemühle photo rag. Courtesy of the artist.

Susan Silas: natural histories

Susan Silas is a New York-based artist who uses photography, video, performance, and sculpture to examine the aging female body and various states of being. Her exhibition combines works from several series over the past twenty-five years, drawing connections between animal and human, stillness…

Barbara Rossi, Armour Defeat, 1969, etching on paper. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Kohler Foundation, Inc.

Barbara Rossi: Bodily Forms

In 2022, the Museum received a generous gift of Barbara Rossi works from the Kohler Foundation in Wisconsin, and several of these are included in this exhibition. The artist is associated with the Chicago Imagists, along with Roger Brown, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, Ed Paschke, and Karl Wirsum,…

Romare Bearden, Circe Into Swine from the Odysseus Suite, 1979, color screenprint on paper. Collection of the UK Art Museum, anonymous gift.

re:museum

The re:museum exhibition continues to evolve and re:fresh, with updated artworks and informational displays. 

re:museum centers the Museum and our permanent collection by exhibiting a combination of artworks, educational prompts, and other incisive displays. The…

John Yau and Tom Burckhardt, A Void Going Back, 2022, oil on panel. Courtesy of John Yau and Tom Burckhardt.

Disguise the Limit: John Yau’s Collaborations

This exhibition features the collaborative works that poet/author/critic John Yau has created with a range of visual artists during the past four decades. These include paintings, mixed media works on paper, print portfolios, artist books, and letterpress broadsides. As he says, “I’m into every…

Walid Raad, Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut) _ Streetscapes, 1991-95. Courtesy of the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

Walid Raad: Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut)

Walid Raad is a Lebanon-born and New York-based artist whose work investigates the ways that history is remembered and represented. He makes use of archives and photographs in the public realm and questions aspects of veracity and meaning in the context of ongoing wars in the Middle East. Raad…

Dieter Roth, Untitled from 2 Times 5 Bats, 1978, offset lithograph and graphite pencil on paper. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of David Kinley.

Dieter Roth Prints

Dieter Roth was a German-Swiss Conceptual artist known for his use of non-traditional materials in making sculptures and installations. Cheese, sausage, and chocolate, among other items, would lend definite odors (not always pleasant ones) during the run of his exhibitions. Roth enjoyed blurring…
Tim Carpenter, Untitled from the series Illinois Traction, 2012, gelatin silver print. Courtesy of the artist.

Tim Carpenter: Still feel gone

In Still feel gone, Tim Carpenter brings together three distinct series of black-and-white photographs that document spare American landscapes and feature houses, roads, trees, powerlines, and other natural or built elements. Often working in central Illinois where he grew up, Carpenter draws the…
Spanish, Head of Christ (Fragment of Crucified Christ), circa 1600, carved and polychromed European limewood. Collection of the UK Art Museum, bequest of Gertrude E. Straus through Mr. and Mrs. Tony Zappone.

Christina A. West: Staring at the Son

Christina A. West is a mixed-media artist whose works often reference classical art and academic traditions of studying the model. We have invited her to adapt pieces from her Mere Mortals series (constructed wooden stages with wheels, plaster body fragments, plastic straps, and weights) and other…
Ron Isaacs, Verity, 2021, acrylic on birch plywood construction. Courtesy of the artist.

Ron Isaacs and Robert Shay: Ever Wonder

This exhibition brings together the trompe l’œil sculptures of two established artists who transform clay and plywood into tableaus of everyday items including clothing, branches, envelopes, and bowls of fruit. Their works are likely to be familiar to Lexington audiences, but Isaacs and Shay are…
IMAGE: Willie Cole, Shoonufu Female Figure (detail), 2012, bronze. Collection of the UK Art Museum, purchase: The Collectors Fund.

re:museum

The preposition “re” has a rich grammatical history dating back to its Latin origins, meaning “in reality” or “in fact.” Today, you’re most likely to see “re” on documents or emails, meaning “in regard to” and often interpreted as shorthand for “reply.”The re:museum exhibition employs “re” for its…

Museum Curator Tour

Join director/curator Stuart Horodner for a tour of our current exhibitions including Christina West: Staring at the Son, which includes recent sculptures and videos paired with works in the Museum’s permanent collection.

Created 08/13/2021
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Last Updated 11/01/2023