PRESS RELEASE

During this time of social-distancing and, in some cases, isolation, we are watching the world go by from our windows. They are portals through which we can escape and take in the views. Windows have long been a popular motif in art, often used for their ability to convey different perspectives or emotions and to frame interior spaces. This exhibition, featuring works from the RMG’s Permanent Collection, delves into the many ways artists use windows in their work.

Because windows are frames within themselves, they can provide interesting perspectives between the inner and outer world. In Bruce Smith’s painting Face in the Window (Figure 1.) the landscape and figure outside are of equal importance to the window frame and bouquets on the sill. Here, the natural beauty that you would typically see outside, is sitting in vases inside while a women looks in through the window—a playful inversion of these spaces. While in other works, the window is the subject itself.