As the new year approaches, the Dayton Art Institute (DAI) is excited to announce a diverse lineup of exhibitions for 2022, highlighted by the Special Exhibition Black Heritage Through Visual Rhythms and the Focus Exhibition Van Gogh and European Landscapes, as well as several other DAI-exclusive exhibitions.
“The exhibitions for 2022 will be memorable and enjoyable,” said DAI Chief Curator & Director of Education, Jerry N. Smith. “We will introduce works by living artists from across the country, celebrate how conservation helps us preserve the many treasures within our outstanding collection and will feature one of the most intriguing photographers working today. We will also bring a pair of remarkable paintings by Vincent van Gogh to Dayton, along with a host of diverse offerings.”
2022 SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS
The DAI will return to presenting three large Special Exhibitions in 2022.
The Special Exhibition season kicks off in February, with the DAI exclusive Black Heritage Through Visual Rhythms, on view February 26–May 22. Presented in collaboration with Dayton’s own African American Visual Artists Guild, this juried exhibition will feature exceptional contemporary art by African American artists from across the United States. This will mark the seventh annual presentation of Black Heritage Through Visual Rhythms and its first time being hosted at DAI. The exhibition’s Best in Show winner will be featured in a 2023 Focus Exhibition at the DAI.
A close look at how conservation protects artworks for future generations will be the subject of DAI’s summer exhibition, Art for the Ages: Conservation at DAI, on view June 25–September 11. Organized by the Dayton Art Institute, the museum will be the exclusive venue for this exhibition. Presenting rarely displayed works, as well as favorites seen in a new light, it includes examples from a variety of time periods, cultures and materials.
The 2022 Special Exhibition season concludes in the fall with American Myth and Memory: David Levinthal Photographs, on view October 15, 2022–January 15, 2023. This touring exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, brings together highlights from Levinthal’s fascinating photographs of toys as a way to examine American stories.
2022 FOCUS EXHIBITIONS
The DAI’s Focus Exhibition lineup presents a series of smaller, intimate exhibitions, based around a variety of themes.
The 2022 Focus Exhibition season will be highlighted by the work of the world’s most famous artist, Vincent van Gogh. In Van Gogh and European Landscapes, on view March 5–September 4, a remarkable pair of Van Gogh paintings, on loan to the DAI, will be at the center of this look at European landscape painting.
Other planned Focus Exhibitions include:
Fired Imagination: Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Family Collection, on view February 5–July 24, presents a private collection of ceramics, ranging from figures to vessels and spanning more than 3,000 years of Chinese history.
Mysteries abound in Something Unknown, on view March 12–June 5, a display of photographs and works on paper in which details about the work, such as 
the identity of the artist, the subject matter, the location, etc., are unknown to the museum. Maybe you can help the DAI solve a mystery!
Netsuke and the Art of Little Wonders, on view August 27, 2022–February 12, 2023, features netsuke, which are delicately carved personal accessories that depict subjects from popular culture–such as heroes, monsters and folk tales–in Japan during the Edo period (1615–1868).
Additional Focus Exhibitions will be announced in the new year. For more information and updates about both Special and Focus Exhibitions at the DAI, go to www.daytonartinstitute.org/exhibitions.
“Our curatorial team has put together an outstanding selection of exhibitions for 2022,” said DAI Director & CEO Michael R. Roediger. “You won’t want to miss any of these, especially the rare opportunity to see the work of Vincent van Gogh here in Dayton. I encourage you to consider becoming a museum member, which gives you unlimited free admission to the museum, as well as many other benefits.”
Through the end of this year, the DAI is offering a special holiday membership discount–get 15% off the cost of select new and gift memberships through December 31, 2021. To take advantage of this offer, visit the DAI Guest Services Desk or call 937-223-4278 during regular museum hours, or purchase online at www.daytonartinstitute.org/membership using the discount code HOLIDAY2021 at checkout.
Be sure to also include a visit to the DAI in your holiday plans. Current exhibitions at the museum include Ralston Crawford: Air + Space + War, on view through January 23, Norman Rockwell: Stories of Emotion, on view through February 13, Formless Form V: The Calligraphy of Ronald Y. Nakasone andSpotlight on Africa: Gifts from Dianne Komminsk, both on view through January 2, Within Reach of All: Early Dayton Photography, on view through February 6, and Beyond the Woodblock, on view through March 6.
