For Immediate Release
February 3, 2003
Contact:
Brent Sverdloff 781/259-3628, bsverdloff@decordova.org
Sarah Smith 781/259-3663, ssmith@decordova.org
April, May, June 2003 @ DeCordova: Exhibitions and Events
New Exhibitions
The 2003 DeCordova Annual Exhibition
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, James and Audrey Foster Galleries, Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Gallery
June 7 - August 31, 2003
Opening Reception: Friday, June 13, 2003, 6 - 9 pm
Each summer DeCordova presents its eagerly awaited Annual Exhibition, an exciting round-up of regional talent in the visual arts. This show focuses on the quality and diversity of contemporary art created in the six New England states, and consciously avoids any unifying themes based on media, content, or subject.
For 2003, eleven artists from four states have been invited to participate. Their work ranges from painting, drawing, and photography to new media and kinetic sculpture. This year's participating artists are Hannah Barrett, hand-painted digital collage (Boston); Bruce Bemis, film installation (Gloucester, MA); John Bisbee, sculpture (Brunswick, ME); Morgan Cohen, color photography (Arlington, MA); David Cole, objects/conceptual art (Providence, RI); Lars-Erik Fisk, sculpture (Burlington, VT); Heather Hobler-Keene, painting (Dover, MA); Steve Hollinger, kinetic sculpture (Boston); Laura McPhee, color photography (Brookline, MA); Jennifer Maestre, sculpture (Concord, MA); Jane Masters, prints/drawings (Providence, RI).
The exhibition is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, Curator Nick Capasso, Curator of New Media George Fifield, and Curatorial Fellow Francine Weiss.
Joseph Wheelwright: Stone Heads and Tree Figures
Sculpture Terrace and Sculpture Terrace Gallery
June 7, 2003 - May 16, 2004
Opening Reception: Friday, June 13, 2003, 6 - 9 pm
Boston-based artist Joseph Wheelwright vitalizes and humanizes natural elements through his sculpture. This exhibition features both familiar and new outdoor monumental stone heads and figurative tree sculptures, making this the most comprehensive showing of Wheelwright's larger works to date. Listening Stone, an example of one of Wheelwright's stone heads, is in the DeCordova Permanent Collection and is currently on display in the Sculpture Park.
Joseph Wheelwright: Stone Heads and Tree Figures is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue/brochure and is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo.
Ongoing Exhibitions
Tools as Art: The Hechinger Collection
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, Arcade Gallery
March 8 - May 25, 2003
This national traveling exhibition celebrates the amazing variety of twentieth-century art that represents or incorporates tools and hardware. The collection was formed by John Hechinger, Sr., Chairman of the Board of the Hechinger Company chain of hardware stores. As a way to enliven the company's new headquarters, which opened in 1978, Hechinger began installing artworks that fit the theme of his business. He thought that the display of this art in the workplace was a fitting celebration of the products his company sold, the importance of his employees' work, and the "intrinsic beauty of the simple objects that they handled by the tens of thousands."
The over 375 works by 65 artists include sculptures of tools in wood, glass, metal, paper, and stone; constructions of found objects and building materials; and paintings, prints, and photographs that depict tools of all sorts. Tools as Art includes work by many prominent artists, including Jim Dine, Arman, H.C. Westerman, and Richard Estes. Accompanied by a full-color exhibition catalogue, this exhibition is organized by independent curator Sarah Tanguy for International Arts and Artists, a traveling exhibition service. The DeCordova site coordinator is Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo.
Street Portraits, 1946-1976: The Photographs of Jules Aarons
James and Audrey Foster Galleries, Fourth Floor Hallway Gallery
March 8 - May 25, 2003
This retrospective exhibition of some 65 vintage prints of Boston photographer Jules Aarons includes black and white images shot on the streets of Boston, Paris, England, India, South America, and Japan. Aarons, a Boston University physicist who taught himself photography, took pictures from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s of life on the street in the tradition of photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Lisette Model.
Jules Aarons first exhibited his photographs at DeCordova Museum in 1951. He also served as a photography instructor at DeCordova's Museum School in the early 1950s and was a curator and consultant on several photography exhibitions. The exhibition is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, Curatorial Fellow Jennifer Uhrhane, and Curatorial Intern Francine Weiss.
Landscapes Seen and Imagined: Sense of Place, Part II
Dewey Family Gallery, Millipore Foundation Gallery
March 15, 2003 - Summer 2004
Part II of a group thematic exhibition on the theme of landscape selected from DeCordova Museum's Permanent Collection, this show explores a host of issues concerning the representation, perception, and meanings of space and place in Modern and contemporary American art. The themes examined in this show are linked to the educational content of The Dr. Kenneth Germeshausen ArtExperienCenter. This exhibition includes prints, works on paper, sculptural reliefs, and photographs and is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo.
The Pig Wings Project by the Tissue Culture & Art Project
Media Space @ DeCordova/Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Gallery
March 8 - May 25, 2003
In 2001, the Tissue Culture & Art Project, a group of artists from Perth, Australia, were invited by Dr. Joseph Vacanti of the Tissue Engineering & Organ Fabrication Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School to be artists-in-residence. There, emulating their hosts, they embarked on a program to create sculpture out of living tissue. The Pig Wings Project documents the first-ever wing-shaped objects grown using living pig tissue. The Tissue Culture & Art Project deals with serious ethical questions regarding a near future when objects that are partly alive and partly constructed exist, and when animal organs will be transplanted into humans. The Tissue Culture & Art Project organizers are Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr and Guy Ben-Ary, in collaboration with Adam Zaretsky of MIT.
Robert Kieronski: Photonic Evolution in Deep Time II
Window Gallery
Through August 2003
Artist, engineer, and physicist Robert Kieronski has installed optical transflectors and computer-controlled motorized projectors behind the Window Gallery to create a dazzling three-dimensional light sculpture that changes as it interacts with the shifting angles of daylight. The visual effects are programmed together with an audio background designed to soothe the onlooker.
Robert Kieronski has been involved with art and technology since the late '60s when, as a young Bell Lab Engineer, he collaborated with artists like Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage on interactive light and sound shows. This show is organized by George Fifield, Curator of New Media.
Bryan Nash Gill: Blow Down
Grand Staircase
Through August 2003
Bryan Nash Gill is an artist from New Hartford, Connecticut, who works in many media-installation, sculpture, painting, drawing, and printmaking-to address issues about art, nature, artifice, and perception. Blow Down is a monumental relief, 40 feet tall, which has been installed against the Museum's elevator shaft wall. This sculpture is made from the bark of a single fallen tree, flattened and affixed to panels and mounted on a wall visible from both inside and outside the Museum. In this way, the sculpture operates in the territory where nature becomes architecture. Blow Down is accompanied by two other reliefs-spiral sculptures made of used chain saw blades that resemble the growth rings of trees. Curator Nick Capasso organized this show.
David Berry: Segments
Sandy and Herb Pollack Family Terrace
Ongoing
David Berry is a sculptor from Groton, Massachusetts, who gracefully combines metal and glass to create evocative abstract sculptures. David Berry: Segments is comprised of three distinct yet closely related works: Attraction, Balance, and Crossed. The artist sees these works as segments-of his personal artistic vision, of a larger series of sculptures, and of a larger aesthetic continuum marked by shared materials, shapes, symmetry, and multiple meanings. Individually, each sculpture is elegant and mysterious. Together, the works suggest alchemical vessels or advanced technological apparatus, tools of a mad scientist, or probes from other worlds.
Rona Pondick: New Work
Sculpture Terrace, Sculpture Terrace Gallery, Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport
Roof Terrace
Through May 11, 2003
The sixth annual solo exhibition on DeCordova's Sculpture Terrace features a new and exciting body of work by Rona Pondick, one of the most important and influential sculptors of the last decade. Pondick came to international prominence in the early 1990s with works that incorporated eccentric and evocative materials, and a visceral emphasis on body parts, fluids, and processes. Her new sculptures, while they still deal with the body, are a stunning departure. Pondick now works in cast metals to produce objects that seamlessly morph parts of her own anatomy onto the bodies of animals: a cougar, a marmot, a dog, a fox, and an aggressive pack of monkeys. To create these bizarre beings-which address self-portraiture, the animal nature of the human, and anxieties about genetic engineering-the artist uses a combination of traditional sculptural modeling and casting with computer-assisted rapid-prototyping technology. Pondick's animals, both mythological and futuristic, occupy both the Sculpture and Roof Terraces.
The Museum and The Café @ DeCordova will be closed for exhibition installation from Monday, May 26 through Friday, June 6.
The Sculpture Park and The Store @ DeCordova will remain open during this time.
Events and Education
Opening Reception
Third Floor Main Lobby
Friday, June 13, 2003, 6 - 9 pm
Join us in celebrating the opening of The 2003 DeCordova Annual Exhibition and Joseph Wheelwright: Stone Heads and Tree Figures. Free and open to the public.
Meet the Artists and Curators
Third Floor Lobby
Saturdays @ 3 pm
Have you ever wondered how an artwork is made? Do you ever wonder, "What inspired the artist?" Or why the curators selected a particular artwork for the collection? Here is your chance to meet some of New England's most interesting and vital contemporary artists and the DeCordova curators as they discuss artwork in the current exhibitions. Drop by and get your questions answered. Free with Museum admission.
Bryan Nash Gill: Blow Down
May 3 Bryan Nash Gill
Street Portraits, 1946-1976: The Photographs of Jules Aarons
May 10 Jules Aarons
The 2003 DeCordova Annual Exhibition
June 14 Laura McPhee
June 21 Jane Masters
June 28 Bruce Bemis
Family Sundays
Museum Galleries
Drop-In Sundays, 1 - 3 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Have fun with looking and hands-on activities as you share insights and discover what you value and enjoy about art-as a family. Designed for families seeking to introduce their children to museum going and the art of seeing. Join us on one Sunday each month as we celebrate artists' creativity through interpreting artworks in the Painting in Boston exhibition. This drop-in program is perfect for families with children ages 5-12.
April 6 Dual Functions
Artists use objects that take on a new meaning when they are placed in another setting. Discover the tools of the trade as we work our way through the Tools as Art exhibition.
May 4 Animal Nature
Ever thought of yourself as an animal? Join us and take on a new character as we explore the sculptures in the exhibition Rona Pondick: New Work.
Please note: no Family Sundays program in June. The family event is Art in the Park on June 8. See description below.
Sticks and Stones: Annual Benefit and Auction
Museum Galleries
Saturday, May 31, 2003, 5:30 - 11:30 pm
Join DeCordova for a fun-filled evening of delicious food, lively dancing, and spirited bidding at DeCordova's Annual Benefit and Auction. This event raises funds for DeCordova's exhibitions and educational programming. The purchase of a ticket helps DeCordova provide its Members and the entire New England community with quality programs, which include exhibitions, education and outreach, lecture and symposia, teacher workshops, tours, and educational collaborations. The theme of this year's benefit echoes the Sculpture Terrace exhibition Joseph Wheelwright: Stone Heads and Tree Figures.
Tickets for this black-tie event are $175 and $500 per person; guests can also participate in a formal sit-down dinner and Live Auction. Tickets for the Silent Auction, including hors d'oeuvres, dessert, music, and dancing are $75 per person (or save with six tickets for $420). For further information, please contact Ellie Brenner at 781/259-3615 or ebrenner@decordova.org.
18th Annual Art in the Park Festival and Art Sale
Sculpture Park
Sunday, June 8, 2003, 10 am - 5 pm
Celebrate and participate at the area's largest outdoor art exhibition and sale-featuring over 100 New England artists and artisans! A fun family day, Art in the Park features children's performers, musical groups, Sculpture Park tours, and art activities. Admission is $8 for adults and children ages 15 and older; $6 for seniors and children ages 2-14; and free for all DeCordova Members. No parking is available on-site; free parking is available at Reservoir Place (at Exit 28 from Route 95) and continuous shuttle buses provide transportation to the Festival. Call 781/259-3631 for more information.
Ornamental Art IV
The Store @ DeCordova
May 18 - June 1, 2003
Opening Reception: Sunday, May 18, 2003, 2 - 4 pm
In its continuing effort to promote the very best work being created by some of the region's premiere artists and designers, The Store @ DeCordova announces its fourth exhibition to celebrate the work of three jewelry artists new to The Store's collection. Innovative use of traditional metals and creative use of unusual materials will vie for your attention in this lively and "ornamental" art exhibition and sale.
Take a Trip with DeCordova!
New York City Museums
Thursday, April 24, 2003, 7:30 am - 10:30 pm
Sometimes you just need a day away to see museums in another region. Bring a book or bring a friend. Once we arrive in New York you will be on your own. We will have drop-off points at The Studio Museum in Harlem (Frederick J. Brown: Portraits in Jazz, Blues, and Other Icons), The American Craft Museum (Libensky and His Students,) and MoMA Queens (Matisse Picasso). We will regroup in the evening at The American Craft Museum and depart from there. Members, $65; Non-Members, $80 (includes bus driver's gratuity). Call 781/259-3619 to register.
Museum School Gallery Exhibitions
Museum School Gallery
Ongoing
The Museum School Gallery offers students and faculty a unique opportunity to exhibit their work in a beautiful and highly visible space. Throughout the year, students working in specific media are invited to exhibit their artwork created during their DeCordova studies.
Painting & Metal Arts
March 22 - April 20, 2003
Opening Reception: Sunday, March 30, 2003, 2 - 4 pm
Book Arts & Printmaking
May 10 - June 22, 2003
Opening Reception: Sunday, May 18, 2003, 2 - 4 pm
Sculpture, Collage, Photography, & Mixed Media
June 28 - August 3, 2003
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 29, 2003, 2 - 4 pm
General Information
DeCordova Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm and on selected Monday holidays. Admission is $6 per person, $4 for senior citizens, students, and youth ages 6-12. Children age 5 and under, Lincoln residents, and Active Duty Military Personnel and their dependents are admitted free. The Sculpture Park is open year round during daylight hours and is free. The Store @ DeCordova and the School Gallery are open Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 7:30 pm, Friday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Sunday 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. The Café @ DeCordova is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm. Free guided public tours of the Museum's main galleries take place every Wednesday and Sunday at 2 pm. Free tours of the Sculpture Park are given on Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm from May to October. Visit our online press room at www.decordova.org or call 781/259-8355 for further information.
