ASHEVILLE, NC.- The Asheville Art Museum, celebrating its 60th anniversary, is proud to present Looking Forward: New Works and New Directions for the Permanent Collection from Saturday, September 12, 2009 to Sunday, February 14, 2010. This exhibition highlights 60 works drawn from the permanent collection of the Asheville Art Museum. The exhibition provides an overview of the collection which focuses on American art of the 20th and 21st centuries with an interest in art of the Southeast and Western North Carolina.

Looking Forward: New Works and New Directions for the Permanent Collection brings to light the significant growth that has occurred in recent years. It also showcases some of the areas in which the Museum has collected in depth, including work by Black Mountain College artists, Cherokee artists and Western North Carolina studio craft artists.

This exhibition features works in a variety media such as painting, sculpture, ceramics and drawing. Included in the exhibition is photography by Larry Clark and paintings by Thornton Dial, Kenneth Noland and John Urbain.

In 2008, Museum staff, board and volunteers examined the Museum’s collection focus and works in the collection to create a collection growth plan. The growth plan was developed to identify the strengths of the permanent collection and areas where the collection needs further advancement.

Looking Forward: New Works and New Directions for the Permanent Collection notes the significance of the Asheville Art Museum ’s permanent collection as it exists today and looks forward its continued growth in the coming years.