HUNTINGTON, N.Y.- The Heckscher Museum of Art presents Ripped: The Allure of Collage, which will run from October 29, 2011 through January 8, 2012. The exhibition explores this highly expressive medium that emerged during the twentieth-century as a powerful art form. The show features works by modern and contemporary artists with the goal of presenting outstanding examples of the medium. This is a significant event given the rarity with which collage is exhibited in museums. The exhibition is being organized by Guest Curator Kenneth Wayne, Ph.D.

Collage was the first medium in the twentieth century to challenge the sanctity of the age-old forms of painting and sculpture. Derived from the French word "coller" (to glue), collage uses bits of torn and cut paper, or other materials, sometimes taken from trash, to create a sense of dislocation, experimentation, irony and often great beauty. Unlike oil paintings on canvas or panel, or sculptures in marble or bronze, collage often uses materials with an inherent element of transience.

This exhibition presents approximately 50 collages by a diverse range of European and American artists to demonstrate the medium's breadth. Related works in mixed media or assemblage are also shown. Among the prominent artists expected featured are: Jean Arp, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Hoch, George Grosz, Salvador Dali, Esphyr Slobodkina, Jiri Kolar, Hunt Diederich, Romare Bearden, Ray Johnson, Willem De Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, Conrad Marca-Relli, Miriam Schapiro, Lesley Dill, and Jane Hammond. Other talented artists in the exhibition include: John Digby, Steven Ford, Frank Olt, Peter Pitzele, Marybeth Rothman, Nancy Scheinman, Casey Vogt and Mark Wagner. Among the areas of art to be invoked are Victoriana, Fauvism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Conceptual Art, Abstraction, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Feminism, the African-American experience, and Currency Art.