For Immediate Release
February 1, 2006
Contact:
Joby DeCoster 781/259-3663, jdecoster@decordova.org
April, May, June 2006 @ DeCordova: Exhibitions and Events
New Exhibition
The 2006 DeCordova Annual Exhibition
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, James and Audrey Foster Galleries, Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Media Space, Arcade Gallery, Fourth Floor Hallway, Window Gallery, Elevator Wall
April 29 – August 20, 2006
Exhibition Opening: Thursday, May 4 from 6 – 9 pm
Each year 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 New England states rather than emphasizing any over-arching themes based on media, content, or subject.
For 2006, 12 artists/artist teams from three states have been chosen to participate: Gregory Miguel Gómez, sculpture/installation (Newton, MA); Christopher Gray, video/performance/sculpture (Providence, RI ); Anna Hepler, drawing/installation (Portland, ME); Joe Johnson, photography (Boston, MA); Frank Poor, sculpture (Providence, RI); Alexander Ross, painting (Alford, MA); Evelyn Rydz, drawing (Boston, MA); Jon Sarkin, drawing/installation (Gloucester, MA); Jen Simms, installation (Wendell, MA); Gretchen Skogerson and Garth Zeglin, installation (Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PA); Naoe Suzuki, drawing (Newton, MA); and Matthew Swarts, digital prints (Somerville, MA).
The Annual Exhibition is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, Curator Nick Capasso, Curator of New Media George Fifield, and Curatorial Fellow Dina Deitsch.
Continuing Exhibitions
James Surls: The Splendora Years, 1977–1997
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, James and Audrey Foster Galleries, Fourth Floor Hallway Gallery
January 28 – April 16, 2006
This exhibition features two decades of work by renowned contemporary American sculptor James Surls, whose abstract sculptures are informed by the forces, imagery, and materials of nature. The Splendora Years includes approximately 35 works of art, ranging from table-top wood carvings to monumental forms literally hacked from fully grown trees with a chainsaw; and from intimate pencil drawings to large-scale wood- and linoleum-cut prints. This traveling exhibition is organized by Terrie Sultan, Director of the Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston. The Splendora Years is accompanied by a full-color catalogue published by the University of Texas Press.
Recent Print Acquisitions: The Workshop Portfolios
Arcade Gallery
January 28 – April 16, 2006
Historically, printmaking has been a collaborative process, from the workshops of Rembrandt and Rubens to contemporary studios in which large, expensive presses must be shared or rented. The artist-run studios represented in The Workshop Portfolios foster a cooperative and experimental ethos that embraces the constant exchange of ideas inherent to such communal work spaces. The collection includes prints by members of the short-lived, but pivotal, Artist’s Proof studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1980–1984) and the active studios it inspired: Mixit Print Studios and Hand Press Workshop, both in Somerville, Massachusetts. The Workshop Portfolios include works by some of Boston’s most innovative printmakers and provide an important sampling of woodcuts, engravings, etchings, and lithographs in the Boston metropolitan area from 1980–2000. A selection of 26 prints, from the total 76 acquired, will be on view to celebrate this important acquisition.
Software Art
Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Media Space
January 28 – April 16, 2006
For years, artists who wrote interactive software art in Flash or Javascript posted their works for free on their Web sites. Recently, as galleries devoted to digital art have thrived, a new model of software art sales has emerged. software {ART} space, founded by Steve Sacks, owner of Bitforms Gallery in New York City, has commissioned five of the most original artists working in this form to create new interactive works sold as limited editions. Software Art features four of these artists—Golan Levin, Lia, James Patterson, and Casey Reas—plus the artist team LeCielEstBleu (comprising Kristine Malden and Frédéric Durieu), and their work created, and to be experienced on, a computer monitor.
Great Buys: Museum Purchases
Dewey Family Gallery
Through September 2006
Ten years after establishing the Art Acquisition Fund, the Museum celebrates with an exhibition selected from the many purchases made since that time. DeCordova has been a collecting institution since its opening in 1950; however, no restricted fund existed for the acquisition of art. Instead, money had to be raised each time an artwork was purchased. Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo has selected more than 40 artworks by 35 New England artists. The show includes paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and photography by artists such as Ahmed Abdalla, Allan Rohan Crite, Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick, Annette Lemieux, Laura McPhee, and Roberta Paul, among others.
Ongoing
Artists @ DeCordova
The Marnie Wengren Meeting Room
Coffee Stop
The Café @ DeCordova
Nina Levy: Headlong and Big Baby
Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Roof Terrace
Events and Programming
Step into Winter: Snowshoeing at DeCordova! JUST ADDED!
Sculpture Park
Sunday, January 29
Saturday, February 11
Sunday, March 5
Each day at 10 am, noon, and 2 pm
Try your hand—and feet—at snowshoeing at DeCordova this winter! Staff from Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) provides the gear and snowshoeing instruction. Then, DeCordova Museum Guides will lead you on a 45-minute engaging and informative tour of the Sculpture Park, accompanied by EMS staff. In its entirety, the program will last two hours, so dress in layers that are warm and waterproof, and wear your snow boots. Beginners welcome!
After your tour, relax inside the Museum where hot soups and beverages are available at The Café. Enjoy free munchies courtesy of Late July Snacks.
$15 for Members; $10 for Member children to age 14; $24 for Non-Members. Space is limited. Reservations required. RSVP to membership@decordova.org or 781/259-3629. Bring water, snacks, and sunglasses for the journey. Refunds will be issued only if weather conditions are not conducive to snowshoeing.
Opening Reception
Museum Galleries
Thursday, May 4, 2005, 6 – 9 pm
Join us in celebrating the opening of The 2006 DeCordova Annual Exhibition. Free and open to the public.
Eye Wonder Family Programs
Museum Galleries
Drop-In Sundays, 1 – 3 pm
Free with admission
Come to DeCordova with friends and family to discover an ever-changing world of art! The newly renamed Eye Wonder focuses on “seeing” and “doing” in art museums and combines careful looking with creative art projects centered on DeCordova’s changing exhibitions. Each month, Eye Wonder offers a different focus that celebrates the uniqueness of contemporary artists and their processes with family-friendly guided tours and hands-on art activities. This drop-in program is perfect for families with children ages 6 and up.
Sunday, March 12
Focus on Great Buys: Museum PurchasesSunday, April 9
Focus on James Surls: The Splendora Years, 1977–1997Sunday, May 7
Focus on The 2006 DeCordova Annual ExhibitionInquiries about upcoming Eye Wonder Family Programs should be sent to educationfellow@decordova.org. Please include your name and email address. You may also call 781/259-3604 for more information about this program.
Gallery Talks: Meet the Artists
Third Floor Lobby
Saturdays @ 3 pm
Free with admission
The act of creating artwork can be just as exciting as looking at the final product. Meet New England and regional artists to discuss their work on view at DeCordova in the current exhibitions.
The 2006 DeCordova Annual Exhibition
May 6 Naoe Suzuki
May 13 Christopher Gray
May 20 Joe Johnson
June 3 Jen Simms
June 17 Gregory Miguel Gómez
June 24 Frank Poor
July 8 Jon Sarkin
July 15 Matthew Swarts
July 22 Anna Hepler
July 29 Evelyn Rydz
Meet the Curator
Museum Galleries
Saturday, April 8 at 3 pm
Free with admission
Join DeCordova’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, in a discussion of Great Buys: Museum Purchases, an exhibition of recently purchased acquisitions from the DeCordova’s Permanent Collection. Lafo will speak to issues of purchasing contemporary art and the process that a museum undergoes when selecting objects for purchase.
Café des Artistes
The Store @ DeCordova
Sunday, March 19 – Sunday, April 9
Opening Reception: Sunday, March 19, noon – 2 pm
The Store @ DeCordova will host an exhibition and sale in the spring of 2006 with a high-octane, sublimely caffeinated theme—Café des Artistes! Artisans throughout the country will display and sell work that honors the heavenly beverage. Come sip (or slurp) some java at our opening on Sunday March 19, and be the first to purchase newly created DeCordova mugs decorated with the artwork of local art luminaries.
Ornamental Art VII
The Store @ DeCordova
April 16 – May 14, 2006
Opening Reception: Sunday, April 16, 2 – 4 pm
Feast your senses on the latest in a series of exhibitions that highlight the work of some of the finest artists and designers creating jewelry today. The Store @ DeCordova will celebrate the talents of three artists new to The Store’s collection and, we hope, new to our audience. Join us on Sunday April 16 for a reception to introduce these delightfully innovative works and discover a new way to “ornament” yourself. Exhibition and sale continues through May 14. There is never an admission charge for those visiting only The Store @ DeCordova.
The Paul J. Cronin Memorial Lecture—James Surls: The Search for Self
Dewey Family Gallery
Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 6 pm
This lecture by renowned contemporary American sculptor James Surls has been planned in conjunction with DeCordova’s showing of the exhibition James Surls: The Splendora Years, 1977–1997. The artist will talk about his psychological journey as an artist, why he does what he does, and how his art comes from his deep personal world.
DeCordova’s annual Paul J. Cronin Memorial Lectures were established in 1981 to consider topics broadly focused on changing attitudes towards contemporary art. They are made possible by a generous grant from the Grover Cronin Memorial Foundation.
Ticket prices: Members, $8/Non-Members $10; Students with valid ID, $8. Space is limited. For tickets, please call 781/259-3629 or send email to membership@decordova.org. No refunds.
21st Annual Art in the Park Festival and Art Sale
Sculpture Park
Sunday, June 11, 2005, 10 am – 5 pm
Join us for the 21st anniversary of DeCordova’s most popular outdoor event—Art in the Park! Mingle among the masses and find artistic treasures to purchase and call your own. With over 100 New England artists on hand, the selection of high-quality artwork is outstanding! Post-purchases, create your own artwork at our art activity stations, or relax on the grounds as you watch family-friendly entertainers and listen to a variety of musicians. The Museum, The Café, and The Store @ DeCordova will all be open, and Museum tours will also be available. There truly is “something for everyone” at Art in the Park! This event is free for DeCordova Members and Corporate Members, $12 for ages 15 and above, $10 for seniors and children ages 2–14, free for children ages 2 and under. All parking is free and located at Reservoir Place (Exit 28, Lincoln, off of Rte. 128/95). There are no passes, discounts, or coupons for Art in the Park. For complete details about the event visit www.decordova.org and click on “Art in the Park.”
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 are invited to exhibit artwork created during their DeCordova studies.
For complete information about the School Gallery, please visit our Web site, www.decordova.org. Call Donna Berube at 781/259-3603 or email education@decordova.org for further details about submissions.
Studio Process Exhibit
April 26 – May 7What Were You Thinking? Exhibit
May 13 – June 25
Reception: Sunday, June 25, 2 – 3 pm
NOTICE!
The Museum and The Café @ DeCordova will be closed for exhibition installation from Monday, April 17 through Friday, April 28, 2006.
The Sculpture Park and The Store @ DeCordova will remain open during this time.
General Information
DeCordova Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm and on selected Monday holidays. General admission during Museum hours is $9 for adults, $6 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. 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 Tuesday from noon to 3 pm, and Wednesday through Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Free guided public tours of the Museum's main galleries take place every Thursday at 1 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 www.decordova.org or call 781/259-8355 for further information. This press release is available electronically on our Web site.
2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the American Association of Museums and has been designated the Year of the Museum. AAM's annual meeting will take place in Boston from April 27 – May 1. Learn more at www.aam-us.org.
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