Mismatch: Eliseo Casiano and Abigail Smithson

Mismatch brings together the work of husband-and-wife artists Eliseo Casiano and Abigail Smithson in a celebration of everything that doesn’t quite fit. In a culture that often rewards similarity, Mismatch serves as a reminder that the adage, “opposites attract,” delivers metaphorical and objective wisdom –the strongest bonds form between things that are different.

In their works, Eliseo and Abigail ‘record lived experiences as they visualize them’ through paintings, drawings and alternative photography methods. Casiano and Smithson share a deep reverence for the importance of friends, family, and ancestors, and how those relationships become enmeshed over time. Though they sometimes explore similar concepts, the contributions that emerge through their artistic practices are unique to each person.

Eliseo Casiano and Abigail Smithson each earned an MFA at Louisiana State University in 2018 and 2017, respectively. Eliseo is Gallery Manager at the Batesville Area Arts Council, and he teaches part-time in the Fine Arts program at Lyon College. Abigail is Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Lyon College in Batesville. Both artists exhibit widely in the United States.

Mismatch continues in the TRINITY GALLERY FOR ARKANSAS ARTISTS through May 21, 2023.

Longhua Xu: The Soul of Arkansas

Conspicuous Consumption: If you’ve got it, flaunt it!
Arkansas Made Gallery

Popular culture often portrays 19th century Arkansas as a sleepy backwater populated by shiftless hillbillies and cagey moonshiners. And while the years prior to statehood did attract a handful of unconventional lawless types, western settlement also brought discerning ladies and gentlemen from important families, as well as skilled craftsmen and enterprising merchants eager to supply a growing middle class with the latest trends in housewares, textiles, accessories and more.

During the second half of the 1800s, shipping by river, road, and rail brought almost everything within reach, even to rural Arkansans. Improvements in industrial technology and mass-production meant items could be constructed cheaply and quickly and sold at reduced prices. These advances increased access to items that previously belonged only to exclusive members of early American aristocracy – descendants of European nobility, slave-owners and barons of industry.

By mid-century, converging commercial forces created an environment primed for conspicuous consumption. In the formal parlor, a hybrid public/private space where 19th century families entertained guests, Arkansans donned their most fashionable clothing, displayed their fanciest furniture, laid out their finest silver, and generally presented themselves to their best advantage. In the parlor and on the street, items like hand-painted miniature portraits, day dresses of patterned silk, and the flash of a gold pocket watch increased the social prestige of both middle- and working-class adults.

Hidden Histories: An Exhibit Within an Exhibit

A new, exciting addition is coming to Conspicuous Consumption. Hidden Histories is an exhibit within an exhibit; supplemental captions explore lesser-known facts about selected objects on display in Conspicuous Consumption. The result of careful research, this project shares information about items produced with an eye toward status or profit but at the expense of humans, animals, and natural resources. Expanded captions illuminate subjects left in the shadows and provide a voice for unique individuals whose lives have been forgotten. Just as a partially submerged iceberg reveals only a fraction of its true size, a historical object can conceal stories that lie just below its surface.

Arkansas Made: Photographs by Rett Peek
2nd Floor Gallery

Over several years, Rett Peek worked as the principal photographer for the second edition of Historic Arkansas Museum’s recently-published “Arkansas Made Vol. I & II.” Collectors granted Rett access to their homes and welcomed him into small-town historical societies, university collections, and many other unique spaces to capture images of Arkansas treasures. He traversed the state, venturing into almost every county to photograph local vernacular architecture. In the end, over one thousand of his images appear in the new books.

This exhibit celebrates Rett’s impressive achievement by sharing a small selection of his artful photographs, with a focus on items in Historic Arkansas Museum’s collection. We hope you will recognize a few old favorites, discover a handful of objects rarely seen on exhibit, and walk away inspired to explore the latest edition of Arkansas Made.

We Walk In Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw People of Arkansas
Native American Gallery

We Walk in Two Worlds tells the story of Arkansas’s first people, the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw Native American tribes from early times to today. The exhibit is told through objects and research. Approximately 158 objects, such as pottery, clothing and weapons, will be on exhibit. The exhibit has six thematic areas that are arranged chronologically. Along with objects and a historical timeline are passages of relevant research from archeologists, historians and ethnographers. 

Throughout the exhibit, is the dominant presence of the Native American voice, from each of Arkansas’s three prominent tribes. During the two years of exhibit development, many tribal members were interviewed and it is this voice that informs, educates and guides visitors through the exhibit. Former Historic Arkansas Museum chief curator and deputy director Swannee Bennett said, “What makes this exhibit unique is that it is a story of the Arkansas Native American told in large part with an Indian voice.”

This new permanent exhibit enables the museum to tell the bigger story of Arkansas’s frontier history. "We Walk in Two Worlds is a milestone as the State of Arkansas officially partners with the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw Nations and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian to tell this story of struggle and endurance,” said former museum director Bill Worthen. To enhance this permanent exhibit, the museum is developing related programming for all the school children of Arkansas. For adults, the museum will bring in guest speakers and artists to cover many topics relating to the exhibit for many years to come. 

Sturgis Children’s Gallery