The Art Museum of West Virginia University continued to develop and diversify its growing collection by adding 15 new works of art throughout the 2024-2025 academic year. The museum uses an active acquisition program of purchases and donations to acquire visual art to educate and inspire visitors.
New acquisitions include five works produced throughout the last decade by Rodney Carswell. Carswell, who is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, focuses on abstract works on paper that spark curiosity in their viewers. “ORBELUS” is a 2016-produced color lithograph with pochoir, “BLOOB(?)” and “DYAD-O” are both color lithographs produced in 2020, “YO (JR)” and “RODO” are color lithographs with cutouts made in 2023, and “loth” is India ink and gouache on paper produced in 2024.
"ORBELUS" by Rodney Carswell
The museum welcomed three non-dated pieces from John W. Rhoden (1916-2001), a sculptor from Birmingham, Alabama. “Abstract Shapes,” and “Abstract Figure” are bronzes, and “Two Figures Riding an Animal” are bronze and glass.
Two pieces from Craig Drennon, a painter from Atlanta, Georgia, were added to the Art Museum collection. “Hello From Celtics 1” is an oil, alkyd, spray paint, pencil and crayon work on canvas produced in 2014. “HELLO 3” is a graphite, ink and gesso work on paper produced in 2015.
"Hello from Celtics 1" by Craig Drennen
Other new acquisitions include “May 30, 2020 – 2021,” a multicolor woodblock print produced by New York-based artists Zorawar Sidhu and Rob Swainston in 2021;. “Paper Doll 2,” an acrylic and pencil work on a shaped canvas- produced by New York City-based painter Justine Hill in 2015; and “Builder,” graphite on paper produced in 2024 by Maud Mansen, another NYC-based artist.
Lastly, the museum welcomed “Pipes and Gauges, West Virginia” by famed landscape photographer Ansel Adams. Photographed in 1939, and printed in 1970 as part of his Portfolio V.
"Pipes and Gauges, West Virginia" by Ansel Adams
The Art Museum of WVU is closed for the summer and will reopen in August. For more information, visit artmuseum.wvu.edu.