Into the Night: Modern and Contemporary Art and the Nocturne Tradition examines the long tradition of the nocturne in art and how that tradition has expanded to encompass various ways that contemporary artists consider the enigmatic notion of the night. This exhibition is comprised of paintings, photographs, and works on paper that investigate the psychological concepts of darkness, the dreamscape and its connection to the night, and the inter-connectedness of the environment with cultural and artistic discourse.

The night is a loaded image and concept associated with mystery, drama, terror, and death. It is also associated with notions of safety, protection, and the womb.

The origins of these broad and conflicting aspects of the night in the form of the nocturne derive from eighteenth-century musical scores composed in several movements meant for performance at night as a kind of serenade. In traditional painting, with equal dreamy, pensive moodiness, nocturnes are visual depictions of the night, in particular the night sky in context with the rural landscape or the architecture of urban areas. Such works are a kind of visual language that acknowledges a keen awareness of place. Each of these approaches has its own unique quality that allows for artistic experimentation and reflection on the human condition as it relates to the idea of darkness.