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PAST EXHIBITION

Three ancient coins - at left the coin features a pegasus, and the middle and right coins feature heads Three ancient coins - at left the coin features a pegasus, and the middle and right coins feature heads

Serial Production

 

Greek and Roman coinage occupy a unique place within ancient material culture. The economic function of coinage necessitated millions of specimens, all of which had to be easily recognizable and conform to a standard weight. These specifications were met through a production technique that created seemingly identical items in great quantities and in a short period of time. Blank pieces of gold, silver, or bronze were struck with a hammer to create impressions from a set of dies – resulting in objects that are hand-crafted but also seemingly mass produced. Coins struck from the same dies would theoretically be identical, but variations in the blanks and the unpredictability of the striking process inevitably render each coin unique, whether intended or not.

 

Serial Production explores this unique context by considering the process of production and the subtle ways that coins vary from one to the next. It investigates a category of material culture that can be considered neither original nor copy, unique but not treated uniquely, and member of a series but valued individually.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a forthcoming publication (anticipated spring 2022), Coins in the McMaster Museum of Art: The Greek and Roman Collections.

Watch the Serial Production Curator’s Talk with Dr. Spencer Pope, Cassius Di Maria and Melissa Choloniuk:

 


Left: Silver Didrachm of Corinth with Pegasos, 386-307 BCE

 

Center: Roman Silver Denarius with laureate head of Augustus, 4 CE

 

Right: Silver Tetradrachm of Macedonia with portrait of Herakles wearing lion skin, 315-294 BCE

Curated by: Dr. Spencer Pope, McMaster University, Department of Classics

April 2022 - December 2022

VIEW ARCHIVE
Link to Exhibitions Archive for a complete list of past exhibitions

PAST EXHIBITIONS

A blurred person walks in front of a wall featuring the photographic series Grace (2006). The artworks on display are photos of figures with hands covering their faces. Installation view of I'm Not Your Kinda Princess at Plug In ICA.

Lori Blondeau: I’m Not Your Kinda Princess

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Faded title

SUMMA 2024: Yearbook

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Detail of Rajni Perera, Storm, 2020.

Rajni Perera: Futures

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A collaged and layered photograph of the Grand River floats in the centre of a black background, along with the words: Arenhátyen tsi ní:tsi teyottenyonhátye’ kwató:ken tsi nī:tsi yonkwa’nikonhrayén:ta’s Image courtesy of Courtney Skye. The list of artists is displayed along the bottom: Dakota Brant, Denny Doolittle, Elizabeth Doxtater, Kaya Hill, Rick Hill, Arnold Jacobs, Ken Maracle, Shelley Niro, Protect The Tract Artist Collective, Steve Smith, Greg Staats, Kristen E. Summers, Jeff Thomas

We Remain Certain
Arenhátyen tsi ní:tsi teyottenyonhátye’ kwató:ken tsi nī:tsi yonkwa’nikonhrayén:ta’s

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Two artworks suspended in a grey background; Nicholas Baier's Octobre, and Shelley Niro's Nature's Wild Children.

Chasm

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Artist Mike MacDonald in Gage Park, photo captured by Dianne Bos.

Lisa Myers: Finding what Grows

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The SUMMA 2023 logo is an overlapping triple diamond design, featuring shapes coloured in gradient from red to yellow, purple to pink, and green to blue. The logo is suspended in the centre of a background consisting of a pink and blue swirling gradient.

SUMMA 2023 – Where We Intersect: Identities, Environments, Activisms

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Screen grab of the virtual artwork refuge (SIREN), by nichola feldman-kiss & Matheuszik with SPATIAL-ESK. The image shows an underwater landscape with an iceberg, floating scales, and a far away architectural structure surrounded by floating stools.

nichola feldman-kiss / refuge (SIREN)

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SUBMISSIONS & ASSISTANCE

SUBMISSIONS:

The McMaster Museum of Art is presently not accepting artists’ submissions for exhibitions at this time of leadership change at the museum.  Our Interim Director will be undertaking a review of the museum’s forward exhibition schedule, as well as our policies and procedures, in the coming months.  Our present focus is the ongoing maintenance of our permanent collection and storage needs for future collection activities.

The museum remains committed to our collecting priority in the continued support of early career, mid-career and established Indigenous artists, artists of the Black diaspora and racialized artists through purchases and commissions. Donations will be welcomed and reviewed at a future date which will be posted on our website.

ASSISTANCE:

The McMaster Museum of Art is a third party recommender for Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Exhibition Assistance Grants.

Please note that there has been a delay in the OAC opening the 2024-2025 program. This webpage will be updated with our deadlines as soon as possible.

Priorities:
Artists who demonstrate an interest and consideration of art as a medium for social change and action.

Please follow the guidelines established by the Ontario Arts Council, apply directly through their website, and submit the following with your applications:

Brief artist statement
Confirmation letter from the gallery/museum/venue
Budget
CV
Digital images of work