A Day at the OMA

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

If you need a break from all the holiday craziness, might I suggest a visit to your local art museum?  I recently found myself feeling a bit overwhelmed by the season’s chaos and decided to spend a few hours at the Orlando Museum of Art here in Orlando, Florida.  I am pleased to report that it was just the break I needed!

If you are in the Central Florida area and need an art-inspired break, here’s what you can expect from a day at the OMA…

There are currently four significant exhibitions on view simultaneously, so be prepared to spend a few hours. You’ll need that time because there’s not only a ton of wonderful artwork on display, but also a multitude of informative and well-written museum labels and didactics.  These were immensely helpful as there are no accompanying catalogues available for purchase in the museum shop. This was a little disappointing because, as you know, no one loves a museum catalogue more than me.

The premier exhibition, taking up the most gallery space and filled with some really extraordinary works, is the Treasures from the Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University: Five Centuries of Old Master Painting.

Expertly curated to explain the significance of religious artwork during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, this exhibition was like an art historical scavenger hunt! In fact, that’s how I would recommend viewing this particular exhibition, as I personally experienced quite a lot of exhausting sensory overload. There is just that much artwork to see!

If you’d like to give the scavenger hunt technique a try during your visit, here are a few things you can look for…

  1. Find an example of a work from the Golden Age of Dutch Baroque painting.
  2. Which artists were influenced by Caravaggio?
  3. What animal is closely associated with Saint Jerome?
  4. Martyred saints carry what attribute?
  5. Are there any paintings that illustrate the dramatic use of tenebrism or chiaroscuro?
“The Holy Family in the Carpenter Shop,” Gerrit von Honthorst, 17th century

Luces y Sombres: Mexican Photography from the Bank of America Collection offers a wonderful exploration of the history of Mexico from the 1930’s to today. Luces y Sombres (which translates to “light and dark” in English) is a fantastic title for a show of this magnitude because the photographs in black and white were incredibly profound and my personal favorites. I was especially moved by the work of artist Manuel Carrillo whose work captured ordinary people going about their lives in such a way that every shot had a balanced, natural composition with a striking use of dark shadow and soft light. Each photograph exuded a sort of quiet emotion celebrating the joyous simplicity of just being alive. His work was truly moving.

The Connoisseurship & Collecting: Masterworks of European Painting from the Muscarelle Museum of Art exhibition was, honestly, a bit of a disappointment, especially after having taken in the work from the Bob Jones University collection. None of the artwork really “wowed” me and it all seemed a little haphazard in its curation. I also did not care for the choice of red walls as a background as it actually distracted from quite a few of the pieces, especially the random Georgia O’Keeffe painting given a prominent location.

“White Flower,” Georgia O’Keeffe, 1932

Cathedrals of Florida: Masterworks by Clyde Butcher was the perfect visual pallet cleanser and I recommend seeing this exhibition as you conclude your visit and prepare to return to the “real world.” I have always loved the work of Clyde Butcher and this exhibition really does his work justice. The curators should be acknowledged because the gallery is transformed into a meditative space as the viewer is surrounded by multiple large-scale black-and-white images of Florida’s distinctive environment. Indeed, the feeling of said space is one of contemplation, not just on the unmatched technical skill of the artist, but on the curious notion that the uniquely Floridian landscapes depicted could be lost forever within a matter of decades.

To prepare for your own visit to the Orlando Museum of Art, please visit…

https://omart.org/exhibitions/current_exhibitions/

4 thoughts on “A Day at the OMA”

  2. Georgia O’Keefe painting from Adrienne should only have 1 silver frame around it to show beauty of art. Largest collection of Georgia’s art outside her own foundation Sante Fe New Mexico art museum is at Milwauke Museum of Art.

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The Wandering Art Historian's avatar
I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.