LOUISVILLE, KY.- The Speed Art Museum’s 2025 exhibitions feature a dynamic lineup of shows that celebrate innovation, exploration, and the defiance of convention. A groundbreaking exhibition that spotlights daring American women artists who redefined their lives and set a new standard for artistic expression, and a showcase of the imaginative worlds inspired by Bosch and Bruegel anchor a series of engaging exhibitions that will supplement the Speed’s diverse permanent collections and ongoing community programming and events. Alongside the Speed’s permanent collection, the 2025 special exhibitions promise a vibrant and thought-provoking array of cultural experiences for all audiences.

“At the center of our 2025 year of exhibitions are two marquee exhibitions that celebrate the fearless creativity and visions of individuals and artists who challenged the status quo and reimagined their existence across time and geography,” said Raphaela Platow, executive director of the Speed Art Museum. “Together with our exciting Current Speed and Louisville Black Avant-Garde series, and signature collection presentations, we are weaving a broad tapestry of artistic voices and perspectives.”

Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900 – 1939 tells the story of women who defied societal expectations to redefine themselves and their work on their own terms. The Speed Art Museum is the first and one of only two museums in 2025 to host the exhibition outside of Washington D.C., where it is currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery. Otherworldly Journeys delves into the imaginative realms of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel, whose daring visions captivated audiences with their fantastical interpretations of humanity, spirituality, and the grotesque. Together, these exhibitions showcase the courage and creativity of artists who dared to challenge conventions and reimagine their worlds.

Alongside its marquee exhibitions, the Speed is proud to present shows that broaden Kentucky’s artistic legacy, explore contemporary creativity, and celebrate artists from diverse eras and regions. Exhibitions such as Louisville’s Black Avant-Garde: Gloucester Caliman (G.C.) Coxe and LaVon Van Williams Jr.: Everything Must Change underscore the museum’s commitment to elevating artists who have been historically underrepresented, highlighting their vital contributions to Kentucky’s cultural heritage. Other exhibitions delve into the evolving artistry and cultural impact of pivotal figures—Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, and Manuel Álvarez Bravo—whose works span different periods and movements, showcasing mastery in storytelling, printmaking, and photography.

The complete, chronological exhibition schedule is as follows:

SPEED ART MUSEUM 2025 EXHIBITIONS

Kathia St. Hilaire: Invisible Empires
October 25, 2024 – February 9, 2025

The Current Speed exhibition series continues to showcase contemporary art by new and emerging artists, as well as celebrated mid-career artists previously underrecognized in the region. Informed by her experience growing up in Afro-Caribbean neighborhoods in South Florida, St. Hilaire illuminates the complex histories of the communities she comes from through innovative, mixed-media studio processes. Invisible Empires is co-curated by Speed’s Curator of Contemporary Art Tyler Blackwell and Robert Wisenberger, curator of contemporary projects at the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Winslow Homer: American Storyteller, Part 2
December 6, 2024 – April 20, 2025

The museum’s 7-plus monthlong celebration of one of the most influential artists of the 19th century continues, highlighting the wood engravings of Homer, who began his career as a commercial, freelance illustrator for popular weekly publications of the time. These works show the artist’s keen attention to detail and gift for storytelling. The works in this exhibition, which are locally curated by Kim Spence, are lent to the Speed courtesy of Ellen Weinstein of Atlanta, Georgia. They are from the collection of her late parents Ruth and Joseph Davis, formerly of Louisville, who built an impressive collection of Homer wood engravings, as well as works by Kentucky artists.

Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900 – 1939
March 29 – June 22, 2025

This major exhibition features more than 65 artworks across various media to tell the extraordinary stories of American women who left the constraints of early 20th-century America to pursue artistic and professional ambitions in Paris. Portraiture provides a revealing lens through which to view the cultural shifts these trailblazing women instigated across a variety of fields, including art, literature, design, publishing, music, fashion, journalism, theater, and dance. The exhibition is organized by the National Portrait Gallery and received federal support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. Brilliant Exiles is locally curated by Chief Curator Erika Holmquist-Wall.

Childe Hassam: Impressions in Black and White
May 1 – August 17, 2025

Hassam was a celebrated American Impressionist painter when, in 1915 at the age of 56, he turned to printmaking. Drawn from the Speed’s permanent collection and curated by Kim Spence, this exhibition features etchings and lithographs spanning the artist’s career and reflecting his varied interests – from the bustling life of New York City to the rural landscape of New England where he spent his later years.

Louisville’s Black Avant-Garde: Gloucester Caliman (G.C.) Coxe
June 19 – September 1, 2025

The third installment in Louisville’s Black Avant-Garde series features the work of Gloucester Caliman (G.C.) Coxe, co-founder and integral member of the Louisville Art Workshop (1966 – 1978). An abstract painter who experimented with form and unconventional materials, Coxe was one of the first Black artists to graduate with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Louisville and was mentor to younger artists including Ed Hamilton and William Duffy, earning him the moniker, “the Dean of African American artists in Louisville.” The retrospective exhibition of this important and prolific artist is curated by fari nzinga, Speed’s curator of African and Native American Collections, with support from Sarah Battle, formerly curator of academic programs and publications, National Gallery of Art. Battle’s oral history research project about Louisville’s Black artistic community in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s provided the scholarly foundation for Louisville’s Black Avant-Garde.

Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez
August 7 – October 19, 2025

Ahmadizadeh (b. 1988) is the inaugural recipient of the Adele and Leonard Leight Glass Art Award, which recognizes innovative, emerging to mid-career glass artists. The artist will unveil her unique, Speed-commissioned installation in the Speed Art Museum’s original 1927 building. Based in Philadelphia, Ahmadizadeh is highly regarded for her distinctive practice, which integrates language and object making, and emerges from her prose and poetry. The installation is organized by Curator of Decorative Arts and Design Scott Erbes.

Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Photographs from the Collection of the Speed Art Museum
August 28, 2025 – January 4, 2026

Manuel Álvarez Bravo was the leading photographer working in Mexico during the 20th century. His early works reveal the influence of Modernism, but he quickly developed a distinctive vision rooted in his Mexican culture and identity—his enigmatic titles and symbolic content often defy literal representation or straightforward interpretation. The presentation of Álvarez Bravo’s photography, curated by Kim Spence, will coincide with National Hispanic American Heritage Month and the 2025 Louisville Photo Biennial.

Otherworldly Journeys: The Fantastical Worlds of Bosch and Bruegel
October 17, 2025 – February 1, 2026

Full of imagination, this exhibition explores the intricate worlds inspired by Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel. At a time when other artists adhered to tradition, Bosch and Bruegel were constantly developing novel subject matter and inventing new imagery. Their work, and that of their followers, features satire and mockery alternated with extraordinary visions of heaven and hell—whether portraying boisterous peasants or saints tormented by malevolent beasts. The exhibition, which features nearly 90 original engravings and etchings, is organized and generously loaned by the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and locally curated by Kim Spence, curator of works on paper.

LaVon Van Williams Jr.: Everything Must Change
November 6, 2025 – March 8, 2026

Lexington, KY-based artist LaVon Van Williams Jr. creates dynamic narratives via carved and polychromed figures and panels, and paintings on canvas, all of which emanate from the artist’s deep faith—he speaks of his work as part of his path to heaven. Some works address his own life and identity, including playing basketball for the University of Kentucky from 1976 to 1980; others point to episodes in Black history and forefront both actual and imagined Black musicians, educators and religious leaders. Curated by Scott Erbes, curator of decorative arts and design, the exhibition serves as both a retrospective and a platform for new work, and also incorporates the work of Williams’ late brother, Dave Wright.