April e-bulletin

Bowdoin College Museum of Art bulletin 4.2026

A detail of a silk scroll with images of a bird on a blossoming branch

Earlier this winter the Museum refinished the floors in its upper-level galleries. To complete this work, all artworks, except the five ancient Assyrian reliefs, had to be temporarily removed. In the recently reopened Permanent Collection galleries, you will discover reimagined installations of the Museum’s historic and contemporary collections. We look forward to sharing in these refreshed spaces old favorites as well as various new acquisitions. In this issue of the e-Bulletin, we celebrate the recent acquisition of an important ceramic work by Philadelphia artist Adebunmi Gbadebo and a visit to campus of Los Angeles artist Gerald Clarke, who is serving as this year’s halley k harrisburg ’90 and Michael Rosenfeld Artist-in-Residence. Also, be sure to note the line-up of public programs over the next month. There is much to see and do this spring.

See you at the Museum!

Anne Collins Goodyear & Frank H. Goodyear III

Co-Directors, Bowdoin College Museum of Art

exhibitions

Ongoing

Josefina Auslender: Drawing Myself Free

This exhibition is the first-ever museum retrospective of drawings by Josefina Auslender, whose work in graphite, colored pencil, and ink, spanning decades and continents, reflects her enduring interest in building new worlds through the visual languages of abstraction and Surrealism.

A painting of women performing labor in a barren field

Ongoing

Hung Liu: Happy and Gay

This exhibition features works by Hung Liu which adapt and subvert Maoist propaganda cartoons that were published during the 1950s. In the series, Liu revisits cartoons of her youth that were published in children's books and primers (known as xiaorenshu).

spotlight

A black and white photograph of a Black woman in a polka dot blouse holding a broom and mop in front of an American flag

BCMA to Present Two Summer Exhibitions that Explore the Legacy of Independence on the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution

This summer, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) will present two exhibitions, USA @ 250 and Celebrating Independence! Fifty Years of Spindleworks, 1976-2026, centered on the themes of American and creative independence.

news

Large scale fabric sculptures in a desert landscape

Gerald Clarke to Begin as Next halley k harrisburg ‘90 and Michael Rosenfeld Artist-in-Residence

Geralde Clarke will join the Bowdoin community this Spring as the next halley k harrisburg ‘90 and Michael Rosenfeld Artist-in-Residence. In a recent conversation, we discuss Clarke’s background, artistic practice, and hopes for the upcoming residency.

Object of the Month

Recently acquired by the BCMA, Ellis Sanders (2025) by Adebunmi Gbadebo is a cone-like ceramic vessel made from soil hand-dug from her ancestors' South Carolina plantation. Featuring Carolina Gold Rice, hair, and salt, the work is named for an ancestor, transforming enslaved history into a powerful act of reclamation. more

calendar

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Film Screening: Morning Sun (2003)

4:30-6:30 p.m. | Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center

Friday, April 10, 2026

"The Many Lives of the Asante Ewer" with Dr. Lloyd de Beer, Curator, British Museum

5:00-6:30 p.m. | Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center

Saturday, April 11, 2026

New England Medieval Consortium

Session 1: 9:00 a.m.-noon | Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center

Session 2: 1:00-4:30 p.m. | Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center

Reception: 4:30-5:30 p.m. | Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Poetry in the Pavilion

5:00-7:00 p.m. | Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Thursday, April 30, 2026

"Music at the Museum" with George Lopez

Noon-1:00 p.m. | Bowdoin College Museum of Art

5:00-6:00 p.m. | Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Museum Hours

Tuesday-Saturday: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 pm | Thursday: 10:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m. | Sunday: 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. | Closed on Mondays and national holidays.

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is open to the public free of charge. The Museum is wheelchair accessible through the Pavilion entrance.

Bowdoin College Museum of Art | 9400 College Station | Brunswick, ME 04011 | 207.725.3275

artmuseum@bowdoin.edu bowdoin.edu/art-museum

Banner: Yun Tsing, Birds and Flowers, n.d., ink on textile. Gift of William Bingham II from the Peterson Collection, 1942.11