Although the CU Art Museum occasionally displays portions of its permanent collection, visitors rarely have an opportunity for a more comprehensive look.
That’s why an exhibition running through Oct. 21 at the museum is a welcome event. It features more than 150 works spanning the entirety of the surprisingly wide-ranging collection, which was established in 1939.
The exhibit is the first of two large-scale offerings in 2005-06 devoted to showcasing the museum’s holdings.
“This one is really to give a sense of the scope and breadth of the collection, to look across all the different components and types of art that we have in the collection and select from there some highlights,” said director Lisa Tamiris Becker.
But as commendably ambitious as this undertaking is, it is nonetheless underwhelming.
There are some major works, such as Marsden Hartley’s “Log Jam (Backwaters Up Millinocket Way No. 3)” (1939-40), and Elizabeth Murray’s relief painting, “Old Kicks” (1986), but no true masterpieces.
There are a some noteworthy subgroups spotlighted from the collection, but few if any beyond such a a fascinating collection of 1930s santos created under the patronage of the Works Progress Administration are of national note.
The museum’s collection is most widely known for its works on paper, especially a group of 3,785 original prints, a good selection of which are on display. These include two strong ones by the sensational Chinese artist, Hung Liu, and a woodcut by Montana’s master printmaker, John Buck.
This exhibition also shows some unexpected facets of the collection, such as a handsome little group of old master drawings, a few Japanese woodblock prints and 13 clay pieces, some more than 2,000 years old, from Southeast Asia.
If anything, Becker has gone a little overboard in her bid for diversity. She included two African masks and one pre-Columbian piece, which look awkwardly out of place because there is no context and too few examples to create a critical mass.
Two of the most noteworthy sections of the exhibition are devoted to works by contemporary female artists, a particular area of interest for Becker. How well the group of paintings and multimedia pieces fit together is open to question, but there are strong individual works.
Among them are “Double Circle” (1970-71), a quintessential example of Jackie Winsor’s fiber sculptures; “Balustrade Vase #99-01” (1999), a ceramic wall piece by former Coloradan Betty Woodman, and “Mea Culpa: Buenos Aires 1976” (1999), a provocative sociopolitical work by Mary Kelly.
The group of contemporary photographs by women includes many new acquisitions, including “Opium Poppy Stage 1” (2001-2002), by Kelly Nipper, who has enjoyed considerable recent acclaim, and “Untitled” (1986), by Cindy Sherman.
Other artists represented include John Baldessari, Jasper Cropsey, Red Grooms, Kathe Kollwitz, Henry Moore, Georges Rouault, Ed Ruscha, Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Peter Voulkos and Andy Warhol.
