Speechless is a fascinating look at how words, aesthetics and materials have supported religious, political and socio-cultural agendas for millennia. Drawn from the Harn Museum of Art’s five collecting areas, this exhibition looks at the use of words within a rich selection of matrices that cover a range of cultures and periods from the 19th century BCE to the present.

COPIA II celebrates new photographs that have entered the Harn Museum of Art’s collection in the last six years, with a few other photographs rarely or never shown before. Copia was the Roman Goddess of Abundance, often portrayed holding a cornucopia; the Latin word copia implies “wealth, variety, fertility,” as well as “a prized, expansive language found in the ancient rhetoricians.” It makes a fitting title for an exhibition featuring photography, a persuasive visual language; and it illustrates the museum’s photography collection which has grown in abundance and variety through the copious generosity of Harn supporters.

Drawing from the Harn’s Chinese art collection, this exhibition unravels the intersecting roles women played as subjects, artists, and consumers of art in traditional, modern and contemporary China. It features a wide range of works including paintings, calligraphy, textiles, ceramics, bronzes, photographs and lacquer and silver wares, some of which have never been on view before. Organized around four themes, Representing Femininity, Anonymous Beauty, Female Artists, and Beyond the Boudoir, this exhibition not only realizes a full spectrum but also provides a more nuanced view of women’s dynamic engagements with and contributions to the arts of China throughout history.  

Florida Impressions: Gift of Samuel H. and Roberta T. Vickers celebrates the transformative gift to the Harn Museum of Art from Samuel and Roberta Vickers who formed one of the world’s most extensive collections of Florida-themed art. The exhibition follows the inaugural exhibition of the gift, A Florida Legacy, and features more than fifty paintings representing about forty-five artists who drew inspiration from Florida’s history, landmarks and natural attractions.

This exhibition is a celebration of global interconnectedness. The Harn’s curators worked together to find shared themes and create conversation from a variety of mediums and perspectives covering Asia, Africa, Europe, and North, Central, and South America. More than 50 artworks from around the world generate new interpretations and dialogues. Resonances across cultures, temporal and spatial boundaries and artistic genres illuminate these artists’ global commonalities and accomplishments.

The exhibition Everyday to the Extraordinary: Highlights from the Korean Collection includes objects from everyday life alongside exemplars of artistic production. Ceramics in the exhibition span nearly 2,500 years of history, from the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BCE–668 CE) to the present, while paintings date from the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) and into the 20th century.

Contemporary Japanese ceramic artists make objects that challenge traditional definitions of clay, in both technique and aesthetic expression. The works on display demonstrate a wide variety of transformations, innovations and reinterpretations of traditional wares. While some artists defy notions of inside versus outside, others conceptualize new definitions of form through materials, processes, surface treatments and firing methods.

Masks from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century show the continuity of masking but also feature new directions in masquerades. Although much of the exhibition focuses on the spiritual and religious foundations of masking, it also explores masking aesthetics looking at dazzling costumes, music and dance.

The Cofrin Asian Art Wing contains four main galleries with more than 680 works showcasing the Harn's collections of Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and South and Southeast Asian Art.

This exhibition presents highlights from the museum’s holdings of American, European and Latin American art spanning the mid-19th century through the first half of the 20th century.