Linger and Flow

Linger and Flow is inspired by shared experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the transformative power of rest; of intentional care of oneself, others, and objects; and the pleasures of sensing and feeling the world anew. Bringing together recent acquisitions and objects that have not been on view in recent years, this exhibition highlights works in PAFA’s collection that invite us to pause and contemplate. 

The words “linger” and “flow”, borrowed from the title of Ree Morton’s sculptural painting, evoke the subtle transformations that occur internally and in the space around us during moments of stillness. On view for the first time at PAFA, paintings by Jonathan Lyndon Chase and Arcmanoro Niles remind us that slowing down and resting are a form of care. Eddie Martinez’s work, also on view for the first time at PAFA, provides a rich field of color and marks that evokes the wonders of the mundane. The meditative composition by Emmi Whitehorse attests to the slow process of building relationships with the land, particularly the subtle fluctuation of light and sensations one might experience throughout the day. The paintings and sculpture in Linger and Flow explore stillness as a process, subject, and effect in art from the 1970s to the present. 

Featured artists include Edna Andrade, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Viola Frey, Moy Glidden, Woody Gwyn, Ellen Lanyon, Eddie Martinez, John Moore, Ree Morton, Arcmanoro Niles, Lien Truong, and Emmi Whitehorse.

Image above [see full image below under Exhibition Highlights] ; Ree Morton, (1936 1977) Let Us Celebrate While Youth Lingers and Ideas Flow, 1975 Celastic and oil on canvas, wood 96 x 72 x 6 in. (243.84 x 182.88 x 15.24 cm.) Pennsylvania Academy Purchase Fund, 1988.