February 21 – June 7, 2026
About:
Fluidity is one of water’s defining characteristics – the quality that allows it to move and change forms as easily as it does. The photographs and prints in this exhibition capture some aspect of water’s motion – from crashing waves to gentle ripples – in a still, two-dimensional image.
Related Events:
Drop, Ripple, Wave Opening Reception
Wednesday, February 25, 7 p.m.
416 Market Street, Lewisburg, PA 17837
We invite you to join us to celebrate the museum’s Downton exhibition, Drop, Ripple, Wave, curated by the Samek Art Museum Fellow, Avery Dubyk. Enjoy refreshments as you observe prints and photographs that capture the movement of water in a still image.
Curatorial Text:
Artists have long been interested in representing the world, and water poses a particular challenge, as fluidity is one of its defining characteristics. The photographs and prints in this exhibition all capture some aspect of water’s motion in still, two-dimensional images.
Western views about water have shifted over time. Prior to the 18th century, the prevailing mood towards the ocean was one of unease and awe because of its danger to sailors and its connection to the Biblical story of the flood. Increased knowledge and technological advancements during the Industrial Revolution, however, allowed humans to have greater control over water, both literally and figuratively, and it took on a less foreboding tone. Instead of depicting water as a static feature of the background, artists began to tackle the challenge of representing water’s motion, a task that once led painter Claude Monet to complain, “I have again taken up things impossible to do.”
The artists here, whose works range from 1870 to 2007, all took up that impossible task, though they approached it in different ways. Some of the prints and photographs on display abstract water’s movement through line or surface. Others allow us to compare the scale of water’s movement from waves to ripples. Still others show the theme of water’s interaction with time, whether through evaporating, freezing, or ebbing away.
Water continues to retain its importance to humanity. Today, speaking of water holds an undercurrent of impending climate disaster. With threats of flooding, rising sea levels, and uncontrollable weather events, we have become re-aware of the fact that we cannot control the way water flows. With this in mind, capturing water’s motion–whether in art or in the physical world–becomes all the more relevant.
Installation Images:
