Current Exhibitions
On view now

One work of art can change how you see everything. Come explore the UMFA’s global art collections and find a fresh perspective.

gallery wall with ten photos of people with tatau hung salon style
Tatau: Marks of Polynesia
August 12 - December 30, 2023
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Comprised of over 150 powerful photographs and narratives, Tatau displays the work of Samoan tattoo masters (tufuga tā tatau), focusing on the influential Sulu‘ape family. Explore a beautiful and sacred art that is fundamental in the preservation and spread of Samoan culture.

an illustration id a giant hot dog acting as a bridge between two red rock cliffs. There is a rainbow arching over the hot dog in a blue sky with scattered fluffy white clouds.
ACME Lab: Hot Dog Bridge
February 25 - October 27 2023

Explore a single work of art from the UMFA’s permanent collection: Hot Dog Bridge by Russell T. Gordon.

a color photograph of black flower that look charred by fire with two blue vases.
The Unique Perspective of Abelardo Morell
March 4 - August 27, 2023

Cuban-American artist Abelardo Morell captures the enduring magic of photography by innovatively blending long-standing and recent technologies, from the camera obscura to the digital camera.

The seven muralists of 2020: From here on out posing infront of a mural in the UMFA Great Hall
2020: From here on out
On view in the G.W. Anderson Family Great Hall

In 2020, artists created numerous murals across Salt Lake City in response to the global pandemic and racial injustice. These public works reflect our city’s pain and frustration but also our hopes and demands for a better future.

a black and white photograph of a women standing in the large entry to a ruined building made of rocks in a desert
Digital Exhibitions
Explore the UMFA's Collections from home

The UMFA's digital exhibitions highlight the past through dynamic curatorial exploration of the collections of both the Museum and the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. Learn from the comfort of your own home today. 

Unidentified Artist, Kuba peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo, Prestige Panel, raffia palm fiber and pigment, Owen D. Mort, Jr. Collection of African Art, assisted by the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, UMFA1985.053.304.
Arts of Africa
Permanent Collection

The scope of artistic practice from twenty-one African cultures

Edmonia Lewis (America), Hiawatha and Minnehaha, 1868, Marble, Collection of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts Purchased with funds from an anonymous donor, the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, and the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation. UMFA2018.2.1 and UMFA2018.2.2
American and Regional Art
Permanent Collection

Exploring westward expansion 

Ku Ch'iao (Chinese, 1614-1695 or later), Snowy Mountains, 1691, ink and color on silk, purchased with funds from the William H. and Wilma T. Gibson Endowment, UMFA2105.2.1.
East Asian Art
Permanent Collection

China's celebrated ceramic tradition

Abraham Susenier (Dutch, ca. 1620-1668), Still Life with a Lobster, Römer, Oysters, Grapes, and a Knife,ca. 1660s, oil on canvas, 21 x 25 1/2 in., purchased with funds from the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, conserved with funds from the Ann K. Stewart Docent and Volunteer Conservation Fund, UMFA2003.34.1
European Art
Permanent Collection

The progression and practice of art-making across five centuries

UMFA Art of Japan Gallery with metal raptor sculpture and samurai suit
Japanese Art: Adaptation and Transformation
Permanent Collection

Exploring how Japanese artists over the last thousand years have responded to internal and external events and influences in their art-making. 

Gallery view of the permanent gallery exhibition "Ancient Mediterranean Art: Res Mortis." In the center of the image is a black amphora with orange drawings, to the left is a ancient greek sarcophagus made of white stone, and to the right is a statue of a Venus with Cupid made of white marble. Venus' head and hands are missing.
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Permanent Collection

Intriguing funerary objects from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures

Vessel with Political Scene, Guatemala, Petén region, Maya culture, 600–900, earthenware and pigment, purchased with funds from Friends of the Art Museum, UMFA1984.002.
Ancient Mesoamerican Art
Permanent Collection

The artistic traditions of western Mexico, Olmec, and Mayan cultures

Strips of automotive tires are attached at a center mount which is in turn attached to a painted black steel pipe stand on an "X" shaped base. The strips of tires form spiral shapes that have been incorporated into the form of the sculpture.
Modern and Contemporary Art
Permanent Collection

A look at the diversity of global artistic production post 1945

Unidentified artist, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Tatanua Mask, twentieth century, wood, fiber, prickly fruit, lime, pigment, Ulfert Wilke Collection, purchased with funds from Friends of the Art Museum, UMFA1983.001.009.
Arts of the Pacific
Permanent Collection

The dynamic and diverse art practices of earth's largest region

Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja), Southern India, Chola dynasty, ca. 12th-13th century, bronze, gift of the Christensen Fund to commemorate founding Director E. Frank Sanguinetti's 84th birthday, UMFA2001.11.1.
South Asian Art
Permanent Collection

Celebrating the art of Hinduism and Buddhism

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