Exhibition Details
The Jewish Museum presents the first U.S. retrospective in nearly half a century dedicated to social realist artist and activist Ben Shahn (1898-1969). The exhibition draws its title from Ben Shahn’s credo of “nonconformity,” which the artist asserted as an indispensable precondition for both significant artistic production and all great societal change.
This philosophy is centered in the exhibition as the foundational thread that runs through the artist’s oeuvre, which investigates issues such as unemployment, discrimination, authoritarianism, and threats to freedom of expression, while championing labor, civil, and human rights. Shahn’s later spiritual work, which embraces the Hebrew language and biblical stories, also reflects his exploration of a tradition of social justice activism within Jewish culture.
This philosophy is centered in the exhibition as the foundational thread that runs through the artist’s oeuvre, which investigates issues such as unemployment, discrimination, authoritarianism, and threats to freedom of expression, while championing labor, civil, and human rights. Shahn’s later spiritual work, which embraces the Hebrew language and biblical stories, also reflects his exploration of a tradition of social justice activism within Jewish culture.
Additional Details
Featuring 175 artworks and objects from the 1930s to the 1960s, including paintings, mural studies, prints, photographs, commercial designs, and ephemera, the exhibition highlights the enduring relevance of Shahn’s art across media, while revealing new insights into the complexity of his aesthetic and his decisive shift from documentary to allegorical and poetic styles in pursuit of a visual language that would resonate widely.
Location
The Jewish Museum
1109 5th Avenue (at 92nd Street)
New York, NY 10128
Image: Ben Shahn, Harvesting Wheat [study for The Meaning of Social Security mural, Washington, D.C.], 1941, Buon fresco on wallboard, 33 x 44 ½ in. (83.8 x 113 cm). D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc., New York.