ANDOVER, MASS.- When the Addison Gallery of American Art, located on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, opens its fall 2013 exhibitions in September, visitors will have an opportunity to explore themes ranging from the meaning of the word “family” in the 21st century to the way that we understand and interpret the natural world and how the media influences our perceptions of dramatic events. The Addison’s fall shows will include:

Flash Back—November 22, 1963, on view from September 1, 2013–January 12, 2014
Presented on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Flash Back—November 22, 1963 investigates the lasting impact of a painful episode in American history through works of art that appropriate, manipulate, and at times distort images that document the time.

James Prosek: The Spaces in Between on view from September 1, 2013–January 5, 2014
James Prosek: The Spaces in Between takes its inspiration from the long tradition of natural history painting. Questioning accepted notions of how we understand and interpret the natural world, the exhibition includes meticulously rendered paintings, monumental watercolors, and taxidermied specimens, many of them referencing the artist’s extensive travel, collecting trips, and biological expeditions to places as distant and diverse as Suriname and Kyrgyzstan. In conjunction with the exhibition at the Addison, Prosek will be the Addison’s Edward E. Elson Artist-in-Residence for the fall. James Prosek: The Spaces in Between has been generously supported by a gift from Edward P. Bass, Phillips Academy Class of 1963, on the occasion of his 50th reunion.

Natural Selections on view from September 7, 2013 through March 2014
Drawing from the Addison’s permanent collection, Natural Selections complements James Prosek and features works of art from the Addison’s collection in which artists explore their relationship with the natural world.

the kids are all right on view from September 14, 2013–January 5, 2014
the kids are all right features photography and video created in the last ten years by 38 established and emerging artists who reveal, with sensitive yet radical openness, the notion of family in the 21st century. The family units depicted in this exhibition are accepted as is, in whatever form they come—natural or found. The artists take no critical position, rather they affirm with poignancy and humor the ever-shifting notion of the contemporary family.

Reflecting on the Addison’s fall season, Brian T. Allen, the museum’s Mary Stripp and R. Crosby Kemper Director, noted, “The Addison’s broad repertoire has always embraced exhibitions that explore a sweeping range of topics, often including charged social issues, and our fall exhibitions fall squarely within this tradition. These exhibitions will serve as a springboard for lively conversation at many levels, from discussions about new directions in photography and the way artists approach the natural world, to conversations about the way that today’s family is defined.”