If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day: Collections of Claude Simard

Installation view, If I had Possession Over Judgement Day: Collections of Claude Simard, Tang Teaching Museum, 2017, photo by Jeremy Lawson

Radcliffe Bailey, Western Currents, 2012, mixed media on canvas, courtesy of the artist and the Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Installation view, If I had Possession Over Judgement Day: Collections of Claude Simard, Tang Teaching Museum, 2017, photo by Jeremy Lawson

Artist Unknown (Indian), Serpentology Drawing, late 19th century, gouache on paper, courtesy of the Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Artist Unknown, (Punjab region, India), Bagh Textile, early 20th century, cotton and silk, courtesy of the Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Claude Simard (1956-2014) was an artist, gallerist, and an influential figure within the international art community. Co-founder of the Jack Shainman Gallery in Manhattan, Simard dedicated over 30 years of his life to engaging with and enriching the lives of artists as both muse and patron. His voracious drive to collect and discover resulted in a sizable collection of art and artifacts from across centuries and continents, works that range from Ghanaian Fante Asafo flags to Nick Cave’s Soundsuits. These objects served as offerings of inspiration for his artist friends, brought attention to contemporary artists operating outside of Western art centers, and represent collecting as an inherently artistic practice in its own right.

The exhibition features a large selection of examples from Simard’s collection, acquired both abroad and from within the United States. The diversity of the works is unparalleled, from medium to country of origin to subject matter. Many of the contemporary artists in the exhibition focus on issues of identity and the multiplicity of forces that shape artists and art. As a whole, this exhibition helps construct an understanding of Claude Simard himself as well as the collective, cumulative, and enduring global web of art.

Claude Simard is curated by Dayton Director Ian Berry and is supported by Friends of the Tang.

Unrecorded Fante artist
Asafo flag, n.d.
stitched fabric

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1970, printed 2003
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, and string

Unrecorded Fante artist
Asafo flag, n.d.
stitched fabric

Malick Sidibé
Vues de dos, 2003, printed 2004
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, and string

A black and white photograph of a young, Black family, a man, a woman, and a child, posed in front of a white wall.

Malick Sidibé
Des chaussures pour aller danser, 1963, printed 2008
gelatin silver print

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1984, printed 2004
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, and string

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1975, printed 2003
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, string

Unrecorded Fante artist
Asafo flag, n.d.
stitched fabric

Unrecorded Indian artist
student drawing, late 19th century
gouache on paper

Unrecorded Fante artist
Asafo flag, n.d.
stitched fabric

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1979, printed 2003
gelatin silver print, glass, cardboard, tape, and string

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1970, printed 2003
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, and string

Unrecorded Indian artist
student drawing, late 19th century
gouache, crayon, graphite on paper

Unrecorded Fante artist
Asafo flag, n.d.
stitched fabric

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1967, printed 2004
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, and string

Malick Sidibé
Tikau Fakoa, 2003, printed 2004
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, string

Unrecorded Indian artist
student drawing, late 19th century
gouache on paper

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1974, printed 2008
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, and string

Unrecorded Indian artist
student drawing, 19th century
gouache on paper

Unrecorded Indian artist
student drawing, late 19th century
gouache on paper

Malick Sidibé
untitled, 1980, printed 2004
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, string

Read #TangCollectiveCatalog responses written by students, staff, visitors, and scholars, in response to If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day

Exhibition Name

If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day: Collections of Claude Simard

Exhibition Type

Group Exhibitions

Place

Malloy Wing

Dates

Apr 22, 2017 - Sep 24, 2017

Curators

If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day: Collections of Claude Simard is curated by Dayton Director Ian Berry.

Artists

John Ahearn, Radcliffe Bailey, Matthew Barney, Alighiero e Boetti, Nick Cave, Geoffrey Chadsey, Pierre Dorion, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Louise Fishman, Phil Frost, Leon Golub, David Ireland, Brad Kahlhamer, Titus Kaphar, Bharti Kher, Andrew Lord, Kerry James Marshall, Roberto Matta, Jackie Nickerson, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Chris Ofili, Gabriel Orozco, Malick Sidibé, Jeff Sonhouse, Nancy Spero, Jessica Stockholder, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Claude Tousignant, Carlos Vega, Leslie Wayne, Hank Willis Thomas, B. Wurtz