Where To See: Museums Spring 2015

Inspiration can come from anywhere—that’s the message we’re getting from local museums this spring. At the Aldrich in Ridgefield, a group of artists reveals that the surprising source of their work can be everyday objects. The extraordinary relocation of a town and a local legendary architect were the inspiration for multimedia artist Chris Larson’s construction at the Katonah Museum of Art. Just one word—plastics—is behind an exhibition at the Neuberger depicting the use of this versatile material in art. Perhaps the most provocative source of inspiration: the Seven Deadly Sins, one of which—envy—is interpreted at an installation at the Hudson River Museum. Keep a lookout for wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust and gluttony, for they’ll soon be showing at a museum near you.

Virginia Poundstone’s Rainbow Rose, 2013

Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, CT • 50th Anniversary: The third installment of the Aldrich’s 50th Anniversary exhibition includes part two of Standing in the Shadows of Love: The Aldrich Collection 1964-1974—a group exhibition of works representative of The Aldrich’s early collection, from Richard Artschwager, Eva Hesse, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin and Richard Serra. Also featured is a selection of new projects by contemporary artists whose work reflects the continuing influence of art and culture of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Kate Gilmore, Cary Smith, Penelope Umbrico and Ernesto Neto; and solo exhibitions of current works by Mary Beth Edelson and Jackie Winsor, who showed at The Aldrich during its first decade. Tues–Sun: 12–5pm. Till 4/5. Circumstance: An exploration of how fine art, design and non-art objects come together to inform and elucidate creative expression, as shown through the commissioned work of six multigenerational artists. In a captivating maze of rooms, craft, historical design and everyday objects sit beside works of art, demonstrating how artists take inspiration from their surroundings—and prompting larger questions about history, culture and society. Participating artists Virginia Poundstone, Nancy Shaver, Ruby Sky Stiler, Penelope Umbrico, Elif Uras and B. Wurtz reveal never-before-seen aspects of their practice. Shown here is Penelope Umbrico’s Suns (from Sunsets).Tues–Sun: 12–5pm. 5/3-10/25. www.aldrichart.org

ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains • Crossing Borders: Memory and Heritage in a New America highlights the work of new and first-generation American artists who use their autobiographies and family history as an artistic tool to explore universal concerns of memory, heritage and identity. Shown here: Beautiful Blessing by Bibiana Huang Matheis from the series Chinese Mojo. Tues-Sat: 12-5pm. Through 5/2. www.artswestchester.org

Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT • Northern Baroque Splendor, The HOHENBUCHAU COLLECTION: One of the largest collections of Northern Baroque art assembled in recent years, on long-term loan to LIECHTENSTEIN, the Princely Collections, Vienna. This selective showing, the inaugural venue in the U.S., primarily comprises Dutch and Flemish 17th-century paintings. While many modern collections of Old Masters specialize in a single style or subject matter, the Hohenbuchau Collection offers examples of all the genres produced by Lowland artists. Tues-Sun: 10am-5pm. Through 4/12.  (Re)Discovering the “New World”: Maps and Sea Charts from the Age of Exploration: More than 30 maps and charts dated from 1511 to 1757 provide a fascinating study in geographic and human progress. These woodcuts and metal-plate engravings, many with hand-applied color, were prepared hastily by mapmakers using the latest reports from explorers and were sold as bound atlases. But, due to imperfect navigation, misreadings or deliberate misrepresentations, these maps, while intriguing, should not be used for navigation! Tues-Sun: 10am-5pm. Through 6/7. Madagascar: Ghosts of the Past is an intriguing look at the island nation, isolated for the last 88 million years, that is populated by hundreds of remarkable species found nowhere else on Earth. Visitors will encounter a variety of living and extinct species, including giant lemurs, pygmy hippos, a carnivorous theropod dinosaur suspected of cannibalism, a plant-eating crocodilian, and the giant, flightless elephant bird, whose egg held the volume of 150 chicken eggs!  Pictured here are two photographs by Paul Mutino from Madagascar. Tues-Sun: 10am-5pm. 4/11-11/8. Walls of Color: The Murals of Hans Hofmann is the first show to focus on the abstract expressionist’s varied and underappreciated mural projects. By incorporating his contemporaneous easel and other key paintings, the exhibition demonstrates the evolution of Hofmann’s oeuvre, culminating in his “slab” paintings, in which the murals and mosaic elements achieved their final, sublime expression. Tues-Sun: 10am-5pm. 5/2-9/6. Florence Henri: Modernist Photographs from the Collection of the Bruce Museum: An exhibition of the works of a remarkable avant-garde artist whose bold photographs reaffirm her place in the history of modern photography. Experimenting with abstraction, dramatic vantage points and new technical processes, Henri (1893-1982) helped to reinvent photography as the art form for the machine age. Highlighting Henri’s portraits of friends and peers, including Wassily Kandinsky and Robert Delaunay, the exhibit offers an intimate look at some of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Tues-Sun: 10am-5pm. 5/2-6/14. www.brucemuseum.org

Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers • Frohawk Two Feathers: Kill Your Best Ideas, The Battle for New York and Its Lifeline, the Hudson River: Artist and storyteller Frohawk (born Umar Rashid) combines art, history and commentary to create a fictional world on the banks of the Hudson River in his series on Colonial America. Working in ink, acrylic and tea, on paper and on canvas, Frohawkchronicles the lives, loves and struggles of European adventurers and explorers, North American Indians, freed and enslaved blacks, and ravishing women in his imaginary Republic of Frengland. This final episode in the series covers the years 1791 to 1793. Wed-Sun: 12-5pm. Through 5/17. Promoting the President: In Celebration of Washington’s Birthday:  Gilbert Stuart’s famous painting, George Washington (pictured), on loan to the museum, is a focal point of this exhibition, which also features the museum’s own collection of prints, paintings, engravings and artifacts depicting the public’s perception of our first president as warrior, hero, elder statesmen, family man and man of faith. Wed-Sun: 12-5pm. Through 5/17. The Seven Deadly Sins: Envy: Adrien Broom, a multimedia artist with a penchant for the bizarre and beautiful, interprets “the green-eyed monster” in a three-part installation. In the entangling filaments of Web of Envy, visitors catch glimpses of objects that stimulate envious desire—beauty, youth and gold. Gallery of Fairy Tales features famous characters from age-old stories who covet what others have and are ruined by their envy. Colors, the barometers of our feelings, make up the Colors of Life photography series, which shows us the green of envy as well as colors that signal light, curiosity and transformation. More Deadly Sins Exhibitions to come include: the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (sloth); Bruce Museum (pride); Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (lust); Katonah Museum of Art (gluttony); Neuberger Museum of Art (greed) and Wave Hill (wrath). We’ll keep you posted. Wed-Sun: 12-5pm. 6/6-9/26. www.hrm.org

Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay St., Katonah • A Home for Art: Edward Larrabee Barnes and the KMA: An overview of the esteemed architect’s career and a close look at the many Westchester buildings he designed, including the KMA. With his architectural practice based in Manhattan, Barnes (shown here) raised his family in Mount Kisco; his relationship with the KMA crossed the worlds of business, art and family life. The exhibition features archival material from the Katonah Historical Society and photographs, drawings and blueprints from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Video interviews reveal a much-loved and unassuming local celebrity. Tues-Sat: 10am-5pm & Sun: 12-5pm. 3/29-6/28. Chris Larson: The Katonah Relocation Project is inspired by the astonishing tale of Katonah’s relocation in the late 19th century. Forced to move from their original location by the building of the Cross River Reservoir, townspeople lifted their homes onto logs pulled by horses along soap-slicked timbers, resiting their town to present-day Katonah. Tying this remarkable history to the building of the KMA by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, multimedia artist Larson replicates Barnes’ private home at full scale in the sculpture garden. He builds the Modernist structure as if it were dragged in on logs, elevated on timber cribbing and pierced through by Norway spruce trees. Tues-Sat: 10am-5pm & Sun: 12-5pm. 3/29-6/28. www.katonahmuseum.org

Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase • Kuba Textiles: Geometry in Form, Space, and Time: The Kuba peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are renowned for their cut-pile raffia cloths which, when sewn together and layered, form extraordinary skirts that wrap around the body multiple times. Characterized by resplendent surface elaboration, these garments are detailed and complex like other Kuba decorative arts, a feature found in no other African kingdom. Remarkable for their beauty and large scale—with some nearly 30 feet long—the skirts are worn on special occasions by men and women and display the status of the wearer. This exhibit features 41 decorative objects and 41 splendid skirts and overskirts. Tues-Sun: 12-5pm. Through 6/14. Plastic: Art in an Era of Material Innovation: A selection of more than 30 works demonstrating the unique versatility of plastic in art. In the mid-20th century, artists began incorporating plastic into their work, showcasing its diverse, expressive and complex qualities. An object in plastic could take any form; thin, malleable plastics could be stitched together or spliced; hard plastics could be glued, colored, melted or molded. Plastic objects could also signify an increasingly superficial and materialistic society. Art made from plastic allowed for the possibility of creating unprecedented forms, and pushed the synthetic medium beyond material mimicry toward the material of modernity. Pictured here: Roy Lichtenstein, Modern Sculpture with Apertures, 1967,  Photo by Jim Frank. Tues-Sun: 12-5pm. 5/9-7/12. www.neuberger.org

Hammond Museum and Stroll Garden, 28 Deveau Rd., North Salem • Brush with Nature: Chinese brush paintings by the Oriental brush Artists Guild, including Touching Rain, paintings by Judith Kruger and Shards ceramics by Karen Ford. Wed-Sat: 12-4pm. 4/18-6/20. www.hammondmuseum.org

Stamford Museum & Nature Center, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, CT • Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney: This fascinating exhibit features 59 original oil paintings from the New York Times best-selling Dinotopia book series by author and artist James Gurney. Dinotopia, the setting of the books, is a fictional island utopia inhabited by humans and dinosaurs that have created a complex, interdependent society. Gurney’s work was inspired by a childhood fascination with archaeology, dinosaurs, lost civilizations and art. Also on display are the artist’s preliminary studies, reference photos and handmade scale models. Mon-Sat: 9am-5pm & Sun: 11am-5pm. Through 5/25. www.stamfordmuseum.org

Where To See: Museums Spring 2015, by Elena Serocki

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