This exhibition features gifts and acquisitions from the Orlando Museum of Art’s permanent collection. Each work on display incorporates playthings such as toys, games, or objects initially intended for amusement. The exhibition is organized into two sections: toward the front of the gallery, the works are deliberately playful, joyful, and optimistic in nature. As you move deeper into the exhibition, however, the content shifts, revealing more somber themes. While the pieces in the second section may still appear lighthearted at first, most carry a dual nature, gradually exposing darker, more complex layers.
As you engage with each work, we invite you to consider the artist’s intent—why they chose a particular medium or object to convey meaning. The often-jarring juxtaposition of joy and gloom is deliberate on the artists’ part, a clever play on perception and reality that invites viewers to look closely, reflect, and reconsider their first impressions. Much like the journey from childhood to adulthood, we are first drawn to the playful nature of objects; yet as awareness and discernment grow with age, we become conscious of the world’s more solemn aspects. These works collectively encourage us to retain the playful mind of a child while also offering a warning against a candy-colored, enticing exterior: “Beware: This is not a toy.”