The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University is celebrating a huge milestone—its 40th anniversary—with a special two-part exhibition titled “The Big 4-0: New Views of the Collection.”
John McKinnon, the museums director said the new exhibition reflects on the museum’s journey and growth over the past four decades.
When established in 1984, the museum was envisioned as the home for Marquette University’s art collection and as a center for learning through the visual arts,” McKinnon.
Over those four decades, the Haggerty Museum’s collection has grown to encompass over 10,000 art objects. “The Big 4-0″ exhibition highlights major works from nearly 40 artists, representing the museum’s dedication to preserving art from various periods, regions and artistic movements.
The show — held in two parts — the first installation showing in fall 2024 and second in spring 2025, featuring over 100 works from the museum’s collections. The exhibition features a diverse range of works, spanning various styles, mediums and eras.
In one of the exhibits galleries, the emphasis is on texture, form and physical interaction with space, inviting viewers to engage with the materiality of the art. In other rooms traditional paintings are juxtaposed with sculptures, while torn canvases sit alongside three-dimensional works.
The two-part exhibition is divided into six themed galleries each semester, with a focus on modern and contemporary art alongside select pieces from other periods. Themes range from modern artistic materials to political satire, kinetic art, migration and post-war representation. The first installation features renowned artists such as Keith Haring and Diego Rivera.
In one striking example, Keith Haring’s 1983 untitled piece is displayed near sculptures depicting the Lewinsky-Bush sex scandal. This deliberate juxtaposition challenges conventional expectations of how art is typically organized, offering visitors a fresh perspective.
At first glance, the organization may seem disjointed, but this is intentional. Curator Dr. Kirk Nickel has taken an innovative approach to organizing this milestone exhibition. He deliberately avoided focusing on the most well-known “masterpieces” of the museum’s collection, opting instead to explore broader themes and ideas that have shaped the museum and artistic expression in recent decades.
“He used novel ways to organize the exhibition, most notably finding a way to showcase collection highlights without a predictable art historical approach or organizing the works the way they may have been put together previously,” McKinnon said.
Nickel encourages visitors to explore the thematic connections between the works, rather than relying on traditional historical or stylistic classifications.
“The exhibition is organized into themed galleries, each focusing on different aspects of art history, from the migration of artists and ideas to the impact of new industrial materials,” Nickel said.
A key feature of “The Big 4-0: New Views of the Collection” is its emphasis on the role of museums in society. McKinnon highlighted how museums like the Haggerty are no longer just vaults for artwork but active participants in cultural discussion around art.
“We are constantly seeking ways to remain relevant and responsive to the communities we serve,” McKinnon said.
The exhibition, with its thematic focus and unconventional presentation, is a testament to that mission—inviting visitors to reconsider their relationship with art, not as static objects, but as complex elements of the ongoing cultural conversation.
Nickel said he hopes that the new exhibition will ignite a deeper interest in the artwork itself by recontextualizing the artworks in new ways.
“I hope it gets them excited about art as the object itself. Fundamentally the actual art object and engaging with it in person is fascinating. I would love it if [the exhibit] sparked that curiosity in students,” Nickel said.
The first part of the exhibit, which opened on Sept. 12, will run until Dec. 21, after which it will be replaced by the second installment in this Spring semester. The exhibit is free and available to Marquette students and the general public alike.
This story was written by Allison Scherquist. She can be reached at [email protected].
