James Welling: Cento at Fairfield University Art Museum

Fairfield University Art Museum will present James Welling: Cento from September 25 through December 12, 2026, in the Walsh Gallery at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The exhibition marks the first American museum presentation of this major body of work by renowned contemporary photographer James Welling.

Featuring more than 60 photographs focused on the architecture and sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome, the exhibition explores the intersection of photography, painting, printmaking, and classical art. Welling’s process combines laser-printed photographs on plastic sheets with hand-applied oil paint, oil sticks, and powdered pigments, creating layered works that challenge traditional ideas of photography and visual representation.

The title Cento references a form of ancient “found” poetry created through assembled fragments from existing works. Created between 2019 and 2021, Welling’s photographs combine segments of ancient statuary and architecture with vivid color overlays that invite viewers to consider the lost polychromy of classical sculpture alongside modern reinterpretations of the ancient world.

The exhibition also includes works from Welling’s Personae series, which reimagines ancient portrait busts by incorporating eyes taken from Old Master paintings. Through this process, the artist seeks to symbolically “reanimate” figures from antiquity for contemporary audiences.

In addition to Welling’s photographs, the exhibition will feature 10 historic plaster casts selected from Fairfield University Art Museum’s collection of more than 100 casts to complement the themes of transformation and reinterpretation found throughout the exhibition.

James Welling, a Connecticut-born artist associated with the influential “Picture Generation,” has exhibited internationally and is represented by David Zwirner Gallery. His work is included in major museum collections around the world.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of free public programs including an opening night lecture with the artist on September 24 at 5:30 pm, followed by a reception at 6:30 pm. Additional programming includes family art activities, a symposium on archaeological visual practices, lectures, and a December 3 anatomical drawing workshop inspired by the exhibition and the Museum’s plaster cast collection.

Fairfield University Art Museum is located at 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. All exhibition programs are free and open to the public, though some events require advance registration due to limited capacity.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit the Fairfield University Art Museum website.