EXHIBITIONS Current & Upcoming

The Long Island Biennial, now in its ninth iteration, deepens connections between artists across Nassau and Suffolk counties and their communities. The exhibition uses the Declaration of Independence (1776) and George Grosz’s masterpiece of political art, Eclipse of the Sun (1926), as touchstones for thinking about power, national ideals, and public life. The Declaration of Independence set forth aspirational principles of liberty and equality, although its promises remain incomplete. A century and a half later, George Grosz’s searing painting exposed the corruption he saw at the heart of modern society. From an open call that attracted nearly six hundred submissions, the guest jurors selected 73 works by 69 artists that respond to these cultural and political legacies. Just Powers brings together the work of Long Island artists with diverse perspectives to reveal how democratic ideals are interpreted, challenged, and reimagined today.

Just Powers was juried by Tripoli Patterson, founder and owner, Tripoli Gallery; photographer Andreas Rentsch, Associate Professor of Photography and Chair of the Art Department, Lycoming College; and Dr. Lauren Rosati, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was curated by Dr. Meredith A. Brown, Consulting Curator of Contemporary Art, The Heckscher Museum of Art.

One hundred years ago, George Grosz created Eclipse of the Sun (1926), a masterpiece of antifascist political art and one of the most significant paintings in the Heckscher Museum’s collection. To amplify its enduring message, this museum-wide exhibition explores politically engaged art created over the last century. Selected from the collections of the Heckscher and the Art Bridges Foundation, Eclipse of the Sun Now features more than fifty works by leading artists of our time.

Eclipse of the Sun is a scathing critique of Germany’s Weimar regime. As signaled by the dollar sign darkening the sun, a symbol of life, the artwork critiques the greed and violence of the military, politicians, and industrialists. The tilted perspective, dissonant color, and ambiguous sense of space underscore the instability of the period following World War I. In the 1920s, Grosz was a leader of the outspoken Berlin Dada movement. Considered a “degenerate” artist by the Nazis, he fled to the United States in 1933 in advance of World War II. Grosz lived and worked in Huntington, New York, from 1947 until shortly before his death in 1959. In 1968, the Heckscher acquired Eclipse of the Sun thanks to a remarkable crowdfunding campaign that engaged hundreds of people, from students at Huntington High School to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller.