Past Exhibitions

Young girl looking at the large Tale of Peter Rabbit image at the entrance of the Beatrix Potter exhibition

Beatrix Potter:
Drawn to Nature

Apr 7–Sep 17, 2023
This magical, family-friendly exhibition celebrates the creative and ecological achievements of the beloved English author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866–1943). In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, first self-published in London in 1901, and twenty-two other children’s books, Potter imagined an enchanting world of animals and gardens. Through letters, photographs, sketches,… Read More
Painting showing a dresser with a phone and TV with color bars sitting on it. Paintings and childrens toys are in the room.

2023 Teens Take the Frist!

Jul 29–Sep 3, 2023
Prompted by our vision of inspiring people through art to look at their world in new ways, the Frist Art Museum invited teens to submit their artwork for this fifth edition of Teens Take the Frist! The resulting selection features artworks highlighting nostalgia as a theme in a variety of… Read More
Woman playing guitar and singing into microphone with man on guitar in the background and blue and red lighting

Guitar Town:
Picturing Performance Today

Apr 21–Aug 20, 2023
Guitar Town: Picturing Performance Today features work by ten Nashville-based photographers who capture the energy of Nashville’s diverse music scene through images of guitar players performing in venues across the city. Highlighting a variety of musical styles and attitudes, the photographers employ dramatic angles, surprising cropping, and hair-trigger responses as… Read More
Couple walking in the galleries looking at guitar paintings and a guitar on display in the center of the room

Storied Strings:
The Guitar in American Art

May 26–Aug 13, 2023
Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art is the first exhibition to explore the instrument’s symbolism in American art from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Featuring over one hundred works of art and dozens of exceptional instruments, the exhibition will demonstrate that guitars figure prominently in the visual… Read More
Man sitting on a bench looking at three black and white photographs

Ron Jude: 12 Hz

May 26–Aug 13, 2023
Ron Jude’s imposing, large-scale black-and-white photographs made in Oregon, California, Hawaii, and Iceland depict the raw materials of the planet and its systems—lava flows, rocks formed from volcanic ash, river and tidal currents, and glacial valleys—that are the foundation of organic life. Stripped bare of the evidence of human existence,… Read More
Two women standing in an elevator looking at large scale art featuring Black women applied to the wall.

Elise Kendrick: Salon Noir

Aug 12, 2022–Aug 7, 2023
The Frist Art Museum presents its first micro-exhibition, Elise Kendrick: Salon Noir. This exhibition includes artwork by Nashville artist Elise Kendrick that explores and pays homage to the beauty of African American women, their unique hairstyles, and the Black salon experience. Under the direction of student curator Jonathan Diggs, Salon… Read More
Ten works of art made by elementary students on a wall

2023 Mayor's Art Show

Apr 6–May 11, 2023
Created as an opportunity to recognize the artistic accomplishments of Davidson County students, the Mayor’s Art Show was launched by Phil Bredesen during the 1990s. The Frist Art Museum began hosting this annual art show in 2004 during Bill Purcell’s term and is continuing the tradition with John Cooper. Art… Read More
Blurred people walking through a very colorful gallery

Jeffrey Gibson: The Body Electric

Feb 3–Apr 23, 2023
This major exhibition is devoted to one of today’s leading artists, whose multidisciplinary practice combines aspects of traditional Indigenous art and culture with a modernist visual vocabulary. This exhibition is part of the Tennessee Triennial for Contemporary Art, a program of Tri-Star Arts. Read More
Two young women looking up at a large colorful tapestry

Otobong Nkanga: Gently Basking in Debris
A selection of works in the Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery

Feb 3–Apr 23, 2023
Nigerian Belgian artist Otobong Nkanga creates tapestries, drawings, videos, sculptures, and performances that feature narratives of wounding and healing, making metaphorical links between the landscape and the traumatized human body. This collection of works is part of the Tennessee Triennial for Contemporary Art, a program of Tri-Star Arts. Read More
An older person with wrinkled skin braiding their hair in two braids

2022 Young Tennessee Artists

Sep 2, 2022–Apr 16, 2023
The Frist Art Museum’s ninth biennial Young Tennessee Artists exhibition showcases some of the finest two-dimensional artwork by students in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) studio art programs. The submission period ran from February 14 through May 13, 2022. Artwork for the exhibition was selected by a jury of Tennessee… Read More