The Toledo Museum of Art Reopens

From stained-glass works that merge medieval and contemporary art to a 2021 collection of beautiful and rare bird illustrations, the Toledo Museum of Art has a full slate of exhibitions scheduled for the next 12 months.

The museum’s reopening began June 23, with its West Wing. Visitors were directed along a one-way path that took them through the Cloister, New Media Gallery, Great Gallery and Levis Gallery. When the Glass Pavilion and Classic Court reopened July 7, the museum also reintroduced a more free-flowing visitor experience.

“The West Wing has some of the really well-known works in it that people are familiar with, like the impressionist gallery,” explains Diane Wright, the museum’s interim director of curatorial affairs. “It also has a couple of exhibitions that we were able to continue, plus some new exhibitions.”

Admission is still free, but visitors are required to reserve a pass in advance by calling the museum or visiting its website. (Passes are currently limited to 20 every half hour as a measure to maintain social distancing.) Visitors are strongly encouraged to wear masks, while museum staff members are required to wear them at all times. Here’s the museum’s lineup of special exhibitions between now and next summer.  


Yayoi Kusama: Fireflies on the Water
Through Jan. 3, 2021
Acclaimed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s immersive installation invites visitors to experience up to 60 seconds alone in a room that envelops the viewer in a seemingly endless expanse created with lights, mirrors and water. The exhibition is by appointment only and separate tickets must be purchased in advance. 


Mirror, Mirror: The Prints of Alison Saar
Through July 26
Biracial artist Alison Saar challenges pervasive cultural and historical stereotypes in her works. Often incorporating found objects into her pieces, Saar creates sculptures and prints depicting a female figure that address issues of racial identity, gender and spirituality. The career-spanning show features more than 30 prints and six sculptures.


Thornton Dial: Trip to the Mountaintop
Through July 26
This single-work installation serves as a teaser for a larger exhibition slated for 2022 featuring works by African American artists from the southern United States. The new pieces are now part of the museum’s collection. They range from large-scale sculpture to smaller works by Dial, Thornton Dial Jr., Richard Dial, Lonnie Holley and Leroy Alman.


Global Conversations: Art in Dialogue
Through Aug. 16
This exhibition features around 50 pieces of contemporary global art, bringing together works that span paintings to studio glass to sculpture. The featured pieces are part of the museum’s permanent collection as well as new acquisitions.


One Each: Still Lifes by Pissarro, Cézanne, Manet & Friends
Through Aug. 23
This exhibition puts artist Camille Pissarro’s “Still Life” of 1867 into historical context, highlighting works created during the 1860s by six French painters. Housed in a single gallery, the exhibition offers the chance to compare the varying approaches used by artists Édouard Manet, Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, Henri Fantin-Latour, and Gustave Courbet.


Expanded Views II: Native American Art in Focus
Through Dec. 6
This celebration of art — both historical and contemporary — crafted by Indigenous people around the world is a continuation of a 2018 exhibition of the same name. Navajo textiles on loan from the Crane Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science are highlighted.


The Path to Paradise: Judith Schaechter’s Stained-Glass Art
Oct. 3–Jan. 3, 2021
This exhibition of stained-glass works features artist Judith Schaechter’s subversive blend of medieval and contemporary art. More than 45 of her panels are displayed alongside select related sketches that offer insight into their creation.


Radical Tradition: American Quilts and Social Change
Nov. 21–Feb. 14, 2021
Quilts from the mid-19th century to present day are featured in this exhibition that examines their role as both a mean of expression and vehicle for enacting social reform in the United States. This exhibition challenges traditional perceptions of a quilt’s function and invites visitors to see the stories of military action, civil rights and the relationship with the land sewn within. 


Telling Stories: Resilience and Struggle in Contemporary Narrative Drawing
Nov. 21–Feb. 14, 2021
This exhibition explores the medium of contemporary drawing through the eyes of three distinct artists. Amy Cutler, Robyn O’Neil and Annie Pootoogook all have different approaches to depicting human relationships and their struggles within the natural environment.


Rare and Wondrous: Birds in Art and Culture 1620-1820
April 24, 2021–July 25, 2021
Naturalists, monarchs and aristocrats during the 17th and 18th centuries were all fascinated by exotic bird species. Many were chronicled in illustrated books and featured on trinkets, while the creatures’ feathers were used as an accessory. This exhibition explores how birds transcended being merely objects of scientific discovery.

2445 Monroe St., Toledo 43520, 419/255-8000, toledomuseum.org