Without Design or Sketch: The Story of The Room
Exhibition organized by Rough Play

September 10 – October 1, 2016
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, September 10th, 6-9pm

RSVP Required to: [email protected]

In rebellion against the function of art to serve a moral and social purpose in the Victorian period, the Aesthetic movement of late 19th century Britain championed the importance of art divorced from any ulterior motive than its visual beauty.

An expression coined by artist James Abbot McNeill Whistler, “art for art’s sake” encompassed the belief that the creation and interpretation of art was the responsibility of the artist, not society, and should be morally disengaged from the outside world. In his book Ten O’Clock Lecture, Whistler states, “Nature is very rarely right…”, explaining that it is the artist’s own vision that must improve upon nature. Championing luxury, exoticism, and sensual experience, Aestheticism formed the foundations of early Modern Art with such movements as Art Nouveau, and deeply impacted the fine and applied arts.