Exhibitions
Current Exhibitions
Chihuly at Cheekwood
July 18, 2020 – January 10, 2021
Chihuly at Cheekwood celebrates the 10th anniversary of Chihuly’s 2010 blockbuster success at Cheekwood while also commemorating the 60th anniversary of Cheekwood as a public institution.
Chihuly at Cheekwood features large-scale installations in the gardens of the historic estate as well as pedestal works presented in the art galleries. Outdoor installations include two pieces on the newly-accessible Ann & Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail, as well as two new, site-specific works created for this exhibition. A monumental sculpture is on view in the Frist Learning Center Great Hall.
Visitors may view the exhibition during the daytime as well as during evening hours on select Tuesdays through Sundays.
Dale Chihuly, Fiori Boat, 2018 © Chihuly Studio (right)
Dale Chihuly, Sapphire Star, 2010 © Chihuly Studio (hero image)
Upcoming Exhibitions
Holiday LIGHTS
November 20, 2020 – January 10, 2021
Savor the sights and sounds of the season at Cheekwood and make lasting holiday memories with fun activities for all ages. Our enchanting Holiday LIGHTS experience was voted one of the best event in Nashville by Nashville Scene and is Nashville’s favorite holiday tradition, with one mile of lights glowing throughout the gardens. This year only, experience Holiday LIGHTS with the addition of Chihuly at Cheekwood lit up throughout the estate.
Nutcracker Marche in the Mansion
November 20, 2020 – January 10, 2021
Have yourself a very nutcracker holiday! Cheekwood will display a collection of over 80 traditional and non-traditional nutcrackers throughout the period rooms inside the Historic Mansion & Museum. This exhibit will be on view during both daytime and evening hours, and will even include Wizard of Oz themed nutcrackers.
See Nashville’s Nutcracker Costumes in the Mansion
The magic of The Nutcracker comes to life at Cheekwood! In partnership with Nashville Ballet, Cheekwood will display original costumes and stage props from Nashville’s Nutcracker as a part of The Nutcracker Marche exhibition. Witness this timeless holiday story unfold before your eyes through vignettes across Cheekwood’s period rooms.
Photo by Karyn Kipley Photography.
Orchids in the Mansion
January 30 – March 1, 2021
In late winter, Cheekwood will present its third annual Orchids in the Mansion exhibit. The Historic Mansion & Museum Loggia, with a view out to Swan Lawn, will feature a colorful and creative display of orchids and an array of tropical foliage—presenting a stylized interpretation of a classical orangery. The exquisite displays will continue into several historic rooms and galleries. These natural interventions offer visitors a warm, welcoming display of horticulture during the coldest month of the year.
2021 Middle Tennessee Scholastic Art Awards
February 6 – 21, 2021
The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, a national nonprofit organization, was established in 1994 to provide guidance and support for the next generation. The Alliance fosters the creative development of youth across the country through The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the most prestigious recognition initiative for creative teens, and the largest source of scholarships for young artists. Alumni of the Scholastic Art Awards include artists Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, Cy Twombly, Robert Indiana, Kay WalkingStick, Mozelle Thompson, Hughie Lee-Smith, and John Baldessari.
For the 30th year, Cheekwood is proud to present the The Middle Tennessee Scholastic Art Awards. This year, Middle Tennessee students in grades 7-12 are invited to submit works to be considered for recognition by December 15, 2020. The exhibition displays the Gold Key and Silver Key award recipient pieces, honoring the artistic talent and innovation of area students. For more information, visit the Scholastic Affiliate page here.
More information coming soon!
Sponsored by
In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870-1940
March 13 – July 4, 2021
A sweeping survey of American Impressionism embracing precursor, contemporary and subsequent movements, In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870–1940 features works by artists including Childe Hassam, George Inness, Thomas Moran, John Sloan, Ernest Lawson, Daniel Garber and Guy Carleton Wiggins.
This exhibition provides a thought-provoking historical context for American Impressionism by positioning it between the Hudson River School—whose majestic landscapes influenced, and then gradually gave way to, French Impressionist–inspired works—and the modernist trends evident in the later pieces on view. The works included are a reflection of the changing mindset of America from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. The exhibition concentrates on regional artists’ colonies established across the United States. It explores the ways in which local artists interpreted America’s rural, maritime and urban spaces and portrayed daily life using the Impressionist devices of capturing the moment with brisk brushstrokes, a vibrant palette and atmospheric effects.
Some of the colonies/artists featured in the collection:
Cape Ann/Gloucester: James Jeffrey Grant, Emile A. Gruppe, William Morris Hunt, Jonas Lie, Philip Little, Jane Peterson; Boston: Charles Curtis Allen, Arthur Wesley Dow, John Joseph Enneking, Gertrude Fiske, Arthur Clifford Goodwin, Abbott Fuller Graves, Helena Sturtevant; Old Lyme: Ernest Albert, Gifford Beal, George M. Bruestle, Bruce Crane, Wilson Irvine, Charles Adams Platt, Chauncey Foster Ryder; Cos Cob: Charles Ebert, Childe Hassam, Ernest Lawson; Woodstock: George Wesley Bellows, John F. Carlson, Leonard Ochtman; New Hope: Daniel Garber, Edward Willis Redfield, Walter Elmer Schofield, Robert Spencer; Hoosier: Alexis Jean Fournier, Edgar Alwin Payne; Chicago: Karl Buehr, Frederick W. Freer, Louis Ritman; Taos: Oscar E. Berninghaus, Ernest Blumenschein, E. Martin Hennings, Birger Sandzén, Joseph Henry Sharp, Louis Hovey Sharp, John Sloan; San Francisco: Ransom Gillet Holdredge, Joseph Raphael; Carmel/Monterey/Catalina: Armin Carl Hansen; Santa Barbara: Carl Oscar Borg, Colin Campbell Cooper; Southern California/Pasadena: Alson S. Clark, William Wendt.
This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program.
John Joseph Enneking (American 1841-1916). Apple Blossom, n.d. Oil on linen. Bank of America Collection.
Sean Kenney’s Nature POP! Made with LEGO® Bricks
May 1 – September 5, 2021
From acclaimed artist Sean Kenney and produced by Imagine Exhibitions, this exhibition features over 40 sculptures made from more than 800,000 LEGO® Bricks. Inspired by the Pop art movement, Kenney’s work blurs the boundaries between austere and the everyday, drawing from a belief that everything is interconnected. Sean Kenney’s Nature POP! Made with LEGO® Bricks explores the beauty of nature through highly stylized, colorful displays that stand in striking contrast with their surroundings. Presenting a playful spin on traditional sculptural art, this exhibition is an accessible experience for all ages designed to inspire visitors to create something wonderful themselves.
© Sean Kenney www.seankenney.com
The Sculpture of William Edmondson: Tombstones, Garden Ornaments, and Stone Work
August 14, 2021 – October 31, 2021
The Sculpture of William Edmondson: Tombstones, Garden Ornaments, and Stone Work is the first large-scale museum examination of the artist’s career in over twenty years. A Nashville native and the first Black artist to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Edmondson remains one of the most important self-taught artists of the twentieth-century. This exhibition, accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue published by Vanderbilt University Press, draws upon new scholarship on Edmondson to reevaluate the full breadth of his sculptural output on its own terms and as part of a comprehensive practice.
