King Sculpture Court

The presentation of works in this space for years has encompassed highlights of the Allen’s 19th-century American, Asian, and European collections. To broaden this framework, in each of the four corners the museum’s curators have installed contemporary works that create dialogues and demonstrate connections between past and present. These pairings take up American identity and Indigenous sovereignty, the natural world and manifest destiny, modernist approaches to depicting space, and femininity and power.

Throughout the museum, exhibitions and installations informed by conversations between the museum’s staff and Oberlin College students, faculty, and community members highlight the diversity of the collection and represent the Allen’s vision of being a creative catalyst for engagement and connection between people and art. The objective is not to rewrite the past but to expand how, and by whom, it is represented. We hope you’ll return to the museum often to experience these conversations as they develop.