Resonant Minds

Abstraction and Perception

This exhibition, drawn from the permanent collection of the Pomona College Museum of Art, looks at the resonance between abstract art and the mind, delving into the ways abstraction reveals neural processes. “Resonant Minds” proposes that abstraction’s aesthetic qualities speak to our minds biologically, psychologically, and evolutionarily. The exhibition includes a range of abstract art, from pivotal works of early European Modernism to key examples of Minimalism in the United States. The exhibition includes lithography, painting, woodcuts, computer prints and photograms. Throughout the variation in medium, size, and style, there is one clear connection: each artwork demonstrates ways in which our minds process perceptions, utilizing illusion, shadow and light, color sensitivity, and more. Artists include: Yaacov Agam, Josef Albers, Bruce Conner, Tony DeLap, Sam Francis, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb, Frederick Hammersley, Vassily Kandinsky, Larry Poons, Ad Reinhardt, Jaroslav Rössler, Frank Stella, and June Wayne.

“Resonant Minds: Abstraction and Perception” is curated by Nidhi Gandhi (PO ’15) as the second in a series of exhibitions developed by student curators under the Benton Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) at the Pomona College Museum of Art.