The year 2023 marks several milestones for the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center: the thirty-year anniversary of the César Pelli-designed building, the publication of a new collections catalogue, and the start of a reinstallation of the galleries. On these occasions, What Now? (Or Not Yet) invites critical reflection: How do collections shift and evolve? In what ways can art help us see the past or shape the future? Works ranging from Matthew Vassar’s initial bequest in 1864 to the Loeb’s most recent loans, gifts, and acquisitions thematize past, present, and future as categories in flux. These temporal categories unfold through the material: breath, body, and text.

To underscore the theme of transformation, a cohort of Vassar students will reimagine the exhibition at the halfway point, generating new thematic groupings and interpretations based on their own curatorial vision. This second iteration will open to the public in May.

What Now? (Or Not Yet) is generously supported by the Friends of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Fund.