Reflecting the myriad questions Lisa Reihana’s in Pursuit of Venus [infected] installation raises in the adjacent Bell gallery, this small presentation of collection work examines the ways in which American artists have depicted rural landscapes through the framing device of the highway. From the ribbon of pavement that undulates into the distance in Danny Lyons’s The Road to Yazoo City (1963) to Allan D'Arcangelo’s colorful Pop Art amalgams, these artists lean into, and often critique, the mythology that has accrued around “the open road.” 

Removed from the context of their portfolios and projects–John Pfahl’s manufactured landscapes, Lucas Foglia’s study of homesteaders in the Southwest–individual and paired works create new meaning through this grouping. Space, time, access, ownership, and “Manifest Destiny” all churn in relation to Reihana’s focus on the colonial gaze. The car as a site of surveillance is amplified in two works by Garry Winogrand, both of which appear to have been shot from the driver’s seat. With the Bell’s collection strength in photography, this show gathers some of the medium’s most celebrated names, offering nuances in approach and execution. Featuring works by Allan D'Arcangelo, Lucas Foglia, Danny Lyon, John Pfahl, and Garry Winogrand.