Contemporary Art from the Collection
July 22, 2023–July 28, 2025
Boston 02115
United States
T +1 617 267 9300
At their core, creating and looking at works of art are acts of care, from the artist’s labor to the viewer’s contemplation and appreciation. Storage, conservation, and display are also ways of tending to art. Tender Loving Care: Contemporary Art from the Collection invites visitors to explore how contemporary artists trace and address concepts of care through their materials, subjects, ideas, and processes.
This exhibition brings together more than 100 works from the MFA’s collection—including recent acquisitions and objects that have never been on view before—that define, depict, and demonstrate many forms of care through five thematic groupings: threads, thresholds, rest, vibrant matter, and adoration. Gisela Charfauros McDaniel’s portrait of her mother, Tiningo’ si Sirena (2021), moves between intimacy and an attentiveness to larger concepts that are meaningful to the artist, like cultural inheritances and ecological interconnectivity. For his Sound Suit (2008), Nick Cave extended the lifespan of discarded objects by transforming them into a surreal, otherworldly costume that asserts the value of Black life. The intensive time and labor that goes into creating textiles and fiber art is evident in examples by Sheila Hicks, Howardena Pindell, and Jane Sauer. Through these works and many others, visitors can consider how different forms of care may inspire new models for living and feeling—now and in the future.
Throughout the galleries, visitors are invited to take time for rest and contemplation on benches and chairs that were commissioned as part of Please be Seated, a program that has invited artists to make seating for the MFA since 1975.
About the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The MFA brings many worlds together through art. Showcasing masterpieces from ancient to modern, our renowned collection of nearly 500,000 works tells a multifaceted story of the human experience—a story that holds unique meaning for everyone. From Boston locals to international travelers, visitors from all over come to experience the MFA—where they reveal connections, explore differences and create a community where all belong. Open six days a week, the MFA’s hours are Saturday through Monday, 10am–5pm; Wednesday, 10am–5pm; and Thursday–Friday, 10am–10pm. Plan your visit at mfa.org.
