NEAR EAST TO FAR WEST: FICTIONS OF FRENCH AND AMERICAN COLONIALISM

Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

Near East to Far West: Fictions of French and American Colonialism was an exhibition consisting of paintings, sculptures, and ephemera at the Denver Art Museum that explored the similarities in style, motifs, and meanings between French Orientalist art and art of the American West produced during the 1800s. The exhibition dealt with issues of colonialism and exoticization and invited visitors to consider their worldview and perspective on history. The design sought to embody the idea of seeing art through different lenses by deploying a pattern motif that appeared throughout the gallery experience in different ways: through perforated walls, textiles, graphics, and light. An interactive reflection zone in the center gallery offered visitors an opportunity to activate their olfactory senses by smelling two scents commissioned for the exhibition and to participate in the exhibition by responding to prompts about the big themes and ideas of the exhibition, writing them down on a card and posting it on the wall.