An exhibit of the photography of Ansel Adams is among new exhibits opening at Shelburne Museum for the 2010 season. "Ansel Adams and Edward Burtynsky: Constructed Landscapes" features over 60 photographs by Ansel Adams, the legendary photographer of the American wilderness. His works are contrasted with those of contemporary Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, who focuses on human impact on the natural world through large color images of quarries, mines, shipbreaking and other industry. Burtynsky's work has taken him to the marble and granite quarries of Vermont, and the exhibit includes a photograph from a quarry in Barre.

"Constructed Landscapes' offers visitors two powerful artistic perspectives on the landscape. Ansel Adams iconic 20th-century work presents seemingly undisturbed nature in black and white. Edward Burtynsky's photographs capture the industrialized world in striking color. Both are beautiful and provocative - in dramatically different ways," said Stephan Jost, Shelburne Museum director.

"Ansel Adams and Edward Burtynsky: Constructed Landscapes" opens on June 19.
Shelburne Museum opens for the season on May 16 with 10 new exhibits ranging from the circus to quilts to contemporary ceramic arts.

The 2010 season highlights include:
"Circus Day in America" is a captivating and lively look at the art and experience of the American circus circa 1870-1950. Using art, artifacts, photographs, and film, the exhibit evokes the sights and sounds of the circus coming to town. "Circus Day in America" explores the development of posters and other advertising, including rare posters of freaks, sideshows, and other offbeat subjects from the museum's collection.

"Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece" is a powerful tribute to victims of Alzheimer's expressed through textile art. The exhibit features 52 quilts, many of them made by quilters who have lost a loved one to the disease, which today afflicts approximately 5.3 million Americans. Listening stations are included with recorded memories of local elders produced by Vermont Public Radio and National Public Radio affiliated StoryCorps.

"Jay Hall Connaway: A Restless Nature" is a retrospective of an exceptional 20th century New England landscape painter whose work bridges the gap between the American realists of the 19th century and the modernists of the 20th century. Connaway's scenes of the Maine coast and the Vermont countryside, in particular, earned critical acclaim. He is considered, with Ogden Pleissner, and Luigi Lucioni, among the most distinguished regional landscape artists of the 1930s-50s.

"All Fired Up: Six Ceramic Artists from Vermont" showcase unique artist-designed installations displaying a diversity of work and providing a window into contemporary ceramics. Featuring the work of Ray Bub of Pownal, Aysha Peltz and Todd Wahlstrom of Town Hill Pottery in Whitingham, Laura Zindel of Guilford, Stephen Procter of Brattleboro, and John Brickels of Essex Junction.

"Embellishments: The Art of the Crazy Quilt" exhibits fine and whimsical examples from the museum's renowned collection. Fanciful materials and needlework are showcased in these creative and cacophonous quilts from political ribbons to sequins, velvets to lavish embroidery. The exhibit includes several recently acquired quilts that will be on exhibit for the first time.

The museum will be open daily from May 16 through Oct. 24.