Global visions, local walls: Inside the Carl Grupp Collection
Not often does one have the opportunity to view the masterworks of renowned artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Yukio Yamamoto, Andy Warhol and more. In the insular Midwest, such opportunities can feel distant — but within the Augustana community, they are alive.
That access is due in part to the nationally acclaimed printmaker and Professor Emeritus of Art Carl Grupp. Through generous donations and thoughtful acquisitions over the years, Augustana’s art holdings have grown into what is now known as the “Carl Grupp Permanent Art Collection,” which continues to bring cultural vitality to campus.
Lindsay Twa, director of the Eide/Dalrymple Gallery and curator of the exhibit, emphasizes the importance of creating a space for such art to be admired and experienced.
“You can only look at things digitally and on a screen for so long before you actually need to engage,” Twa said. “This changing exhibition gives people the opportunity in their own backyard to see these types of things without having to drive to Denver, Minneapolis or Omaha.”
Located in the Center for Visual Arts, the biennial exhibition “Highlights of the Carl Grupp Collection” showcases selections from over 4,000 artworks.
Upon entering the gallery, visitors are greeted by Grupp’s surrealist works, which, as Twa writes in the exhibition panel, "interrogate a world that seems out of joint.”
“I paired the idea of these Parables of the Mind Series with other artists of the past,” Twa said. “There’s this belief that art can speak truth to power, or art is there to critique and hold society accountable, so that’s why we have artists like Käthe Kollwitz, William Hogarth, Francisco Goya, and then I blended those with artists who came from abroad contributing to the art scene in the United States.”
The exhibition features artists such as German printmaker Kollwitz, Japanese sculptor Yukio Yamamoto, and Russian-French artist Marc Chagall. Augustana alumni, including James Eisentrager (1951), Anh Ta (2014) and Sam Wang (1964), have also contributed works to the collection.
By displaying a combination of old and new pieces selected from the vast collection, guests are exposed to and immersed in the history of art abroad. Here on campus, this allows young artists to find their footing in the future of the industry.
For aspiring artists like freshman Emily Stahlberg, access to collections of this size and variety is fundamental to art education.
“It’s so impressive and inspiring,” Stahlberg said. “It shows that Augustana really values art and supporting other artists, and it gives students access to artworks they would not normally see.”
Artworks such as “Embrace” from artist Yang Yang exemplify the marriage between cultural works and the construct of social activism that Twa said she wanted to achieve with this collection. Observing an intimate moment of human compassion, Yang provokes preconceived notions of the viewer's placement in the “out-of-joint world.”
The gallery is not just for those who consider themselves artists, however. Intended for education and enjoyment, the artwork is portrayed in a light that encourages all forms of interpretation.
“You don’t have to be an art major or a professional artist to really enjoy and take things away from art,” Stahlberg said. “You can relate to it in your own experiences.”
Being able to view the artwork during any of the gallery's hours, viewers gain the experience of attaching their own stories and interpretations of the artworks, leaving with a kind of belonging and community that only art can fulfill.
“You don’t have to spend hours,” Twa said. “Just come in and look at three pieces, or five pieces, but really slow down and take a careful look to think and to wonder.”
The “Highlights of the Carl Grupp Collection” are on view through March 12, available for viewing during the gallery’s public hours: Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 1–4 p.m.
