POUGHKEEPSIE, NY, September 23, 2026—From October 3, 2026—January 31, 2027, the exhibition Photo-Design: Persuasion, Critique, Fantasy at the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center (“The Loeb”) will show visitors how experimental photography techniques have helped envision new possibilities and picture new futures. While photography is often associated with truth and documenting the world as it is, it is arguably more powerful and ubiquitous as a medium of persuasion, critique, and imagination. This exhibition looks at the role of photography throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as a valuable tool for creating, and sometimes selling, a vision of tomorrow.

It begins in the 1920s, in the aftermath of World War I, when avant-garde European graphic designers were enlisted to help rebuild economies and urban centers. In order to visualize a future that seemed beyond imagining, these designers turned to innovative techniques like photomontage–cutting, rearranging, and manipulating photos to create new images. Through urban development and commercial graphic design that supported the growth of new industries and consumer culture, designers made significant contributions in a time of global instability and uncertainty. In our current moment, these visions feel especially poignant and necessary.

“Artists–past and present–always help me make sense of the world. It’s often artworks that are the most bizarre and fantastical that really meet the moment. I hope our visitors will walk away from this exhibition thinking about how artists and designers shape our reality in profound ways,” Jessica D. Brier, curator of photography at the Loeb, said.

Bringing together advertisements, books, political posters, and magazines, among other objects, this exhibition demonstrates that photomontage and other experimental techniques are not rarified, but rather a ubiquitous form of visual communication that permeates everyday life. Featuring a diverse roster of artists and designers, including Herbert Bayer, Shannon Bool, Marshall Brown, Pere Català i Pic, Sarah Elawad, Guerrilla Girls, El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Luciana Pinchiero, Jorge Rigamonti, Grete Stern, Superstudio, and Guanyu Xu, Photo-Design highlights the historical and ongoing importance of photography to the practice of graphic design and architecture, offering this as a throughline that connects seemingly disparate styles and approaches to design. Works in the exhibition are drawn from the permanent collection of the Loeb, displayed alongside generous loans from the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College, and the Merrill C. Berman Collection.

“The remarkable range of artists and artworks in this exhibition is a testament to photography’s profound influence on the history of design in all its forms,” Mary-Kay Lombino, deputy director and the Emily Hargroves Fisher ’57 and Richard B. Fisher Curator at the Loeb, said.

Events

October 3, 2:00 p.m., Taylor Hall 102

Opening Celebration for Photo-Design with Artist, Sarah Elawad

Celebrate the opening of Photo-Design: Persuasion, Critique, Fantasy, which looks at the many ways designers have used photography over the last century to imagine new possibilities. British Sudanese artist Sarah Elawad, who is featured in the exhibition and contributed to its design, joins exhibition curator Jessica D. Brier in conversation. This event is free and open to the public. A reception in the Loeb’s atrium will follow the program.

October 11, 1–3 p.m., Loeb Galleries

Family Day at the Loeb

Get creative this fall! Join us for free drop-in family programs on select Sundays. Enjoy a unique hands-on art activity inspired by art on view. Activities can be modified for all ages, but are best suited for children 5 and up.

Admission and Hours

Admission to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is free, and all galleries are wheelchair accessible. The Loeb is open Tuesday to Sunday (10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.) and, from June through August, late nights on Thursdays (5:00–7:00 p.m.). The Loeb is located at 124 Raymond Avenue, near the entrance to the Vassar College campus. Parking is available on Raymond Avenue. Directions to the campus in Poughkeepsie, NY, are available at vassar.edu/visit/tour#directions. The Art Center is also accessible via Dutchess County Public Transit, Bus Route L. For more information, call 845-437-5632 or visit vassar.edu/theloeb.

About The Loeb Art Center

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is a teaching and learning museum, free and open to all, supporting Vassar College’s educational mission and communities. Formerly the Vassar College Art Gallery, The Loeb is the first art museum at a college or university that was part of the institution’s original plan. Today, the permanent collection includes more than 22,000 works, comprising paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, textiles, and glass and ceramic wares. The Loeb strives to be a catalyst for scholarly, creative, and social justice work by Vassar students and others. It aims to reflect a commitment to broaden and amplify the voices represented in the museum setting, and to ensure that The Loeb’s programs and practices have a positive impact on campus and beyond. To learn more, please visit vassar.edu/theloeb or follow on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.