GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.- The Grand Rapids Art Museum announces its summer exhibition, The Collection in Context, which is on view May 22, 2016 through August 14, 2016.

The exhibition features many of GRAM's new acquisitions and works of art never seen in Grand Rapids, such as Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe and Jun Kaneko’s Large Dango, alongside beloved classics by Alexander Calder, Mary Cassatt, Richard Diebenkorn, Paul Gauguin, and more. Important temporary loans from the Whitney Museum of American Art and exclusive private collections round out the exhibition, including photography by Cindy Sherman, prints by Elizabeth Catlett, and new work from Anila Quayyum Agha.

“The best museums are continually ‘shuffling’ the ways their members and guests encounter and enjoy cherished works,” said Dana Friis-Hansen, Director & CEO. “The Collection in Context—which shines a spotlight on many of GRAM’s masterpieces while introducing some new acquisitions and spectacular temporary loans—is the first major exhibition drawn from the Museum’s collection since 2010. I encourage everyone to bring a friend—there will be lots to look at, and much to talk about!"

The Collection in Context rearranges and remixes art work from different time periods, styles, and media to present new and unexpected ways of looking, learning, and responding to art. Art can inspire varied, personal, and beautiful responses, depending on our own unique experiences and perspectives. The exhibition celebrates this variety of perspectives within the community. A special element of the exhibition is the diverse interpretations of artwork by Grand Rapids community members, which are featured in writing throughout the exhibition. These interpretations are provided by a wide array of individuals such as the artists themselves, 3rd grade students, local religious leaders, past ArtPrize winners, and United States Senator Debbie Stabenow.

Chief Curator, Ron Platt, has arranged the exhibition into four distinct thematic groupings:

• The Evolving Landscape presents paintings and works on paper that embody humankind’s evolving relationship with the natural world and the changing ways we depict the natural world in art.

• Faith and Its Symbols includes works of art that incorporate the symbols and icons of the world’s major faiths: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. These collected works demonstrate the interconnectedness of faith and symbolism and give insight into the cultures in which each object was produced.

• Nature-based Abstraction showcases abstract sculpture, painting, and decorative objects inspired by nature.

• Representing Women includes works featuring female subjects that reveal society’s changing attitudes toward women over the past two centuries.

"The show’s division into thematic categories allows us to create new groupings and pairings of some of the great works of art in GRAM’s collection,” explained Chief Curator, Ron Platt. “This gives visitors the opportunity to see something new in a familiar piece, or to think about connections between works which had never been shown together. We invited over forty people from all walks of life to contribute wall labels addressing different works in the exhibition, which reinforces two things: the diversity of individuals that make up one’s community, and that art is something a person approaches and interprets based on his or her own experiences."