The Denver Art Museum (DAM) will present From Chaos to Order: Greek Geometric Art from the Sol Rabin Collection, a traveling exhibition from the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, Fla., in April 2023. This exhibition, explores an expressive period of Greek art from 900 to 700 BCE that is characterized by balance, symmetry, and rhythm, all aimed at refining the concept of beauty down to its elemental core.  

Opening April 16, 2023, in the DAM’s Martin & McCormick Gallery, the exhibition will run through July 30, 2023. Included in general admission, this exhibition will explore the various artistic elements and motifs that defined the “Geometric” period of Greek art and allowed the artists to make their meaning and musings echo throughout time, while still utilizing only the essential elements of distilled and simple design.   

The presentation will feature 57 works, many of which are on view to the public for the first time, spanning pottery, jewelry, sculpture, decorative objects, etc.

“This unique collection gives us a glimpse into the important cultural values of the time,” said Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the DAM. “Class structure, music, poetry, religion, and ideals of beauty are all explored and preserved so that we can continue learning about this pivotal culture that did so much to shape our society today.”  

The era of Greek Geometric art is named after the geometric patterns that were found on decorative vessels from the 200-year span that encompasses this period, approximately from 900 to 700 BCE. In addition to various examples of these vessels, the exploration of the other works and motifs of the period is truly what provides a unique insight into the culture, its impact and lasting influence.

Senior Curator of Early Western Art Michael Bennett, Ph.D., at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla., is the organizing curator for From Chaos to Order. Sol Rabin, Ph.D., has been collecting in this area for over 30 years and most of the works in his collection have never been on public display. The Rabin collection opens new windows into this formative period of Greek art history, revealing what beauty (Greek: kallos) meant to Greeks of the Geometric period. A fully illustrated catalogue, written by Dr. Bennett, accompanies the exhibition. 

“From Chaos to Order: Greek Geometric Art from the Sol Rabin Collection is the first exhibition to examine the origins of Greek art as an aesthetic experience at a time of cultural renaissance. The Geometric period witnessed the invention of the Greek alphabet, the establishment of the Olympic Games and the Delphi sanctuary, as well as the final forms of the Iliad and the Odyssey. The show and catalogue demonstrate that the art of the period contributed profoundly to this cultural transformation,” said Michael Bennett, Senior Curator of Early Western Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg.

“The artworks in this collection display pure and ideal forms, thus conveying a sense of timelessness. Some of them are small in size and yet powerful in impact and influence,” added Angelica Daneo, local curator for this exhibition and Chief Curator for the DAM. “The artists of this period were able to evoke a world of visual discipline, where nothing is superfluous, but rather distilled to its elemental core. We hope our visitors will enjoy the opportunities these objects offer for contemplation and close looking.”   

The dominant forms of storytelling at the time were epic poems, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer, and music, which frequently went hand-in-hand, demonstrating their own patterns in the exploration of life. Many of the pieces featured in this exhibition explore themes related to, among others, class systems and how they were conveyed, religious rituals and personal ornaments. The immersive experience we are providing in our galleries is meant to evoke a time when oral tradition and poetry were an integral part of society and art was believed to be a powerful vehicle connecting the divine world to the human existence.

From Chaos to Order: Geometric Art from the Sol Rabin Collection is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Fla. It is presented in Denver with generous support from the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS4.