Where To See: Museums Winter 2014
From Pablo Picasso to the Super Mario Brothers
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main St. Ridgefield, CT • Music: This ongoing exhibit explores the intersection of art and music in photography, installation, sculpture, new media, performance and archive. Including: John Blackmore: Three Sound Works, featuring Weather Guitar, a Flamenco guitar that interfaces with outdoor weather instruments and “plays” to changing weather conditions; James Mollison: Disciples, presenting 7 thirteen foot long photographs of fans of Bjork, The Casualties, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, P. Diddy, The Rolling Stones and The Wailers. Plus, Martin Screed: Scales, new media; Sol Lewitt: The Music Collection, archives: Xaviera Simmons: Underscore, photography, performance, video, sound and installation. 9/22-3/19/14. www.aldrichart.org
ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains• Grace in Motion: Photographic Dance: An exhibit of works from local photographers that capture the human body in motion. Including the work of Ira Block (seen here) who has snapped images of traditional dance ceremonies from around the world for National Geographic. And Tracey Allan’s studio photographs and slow motion video of Alvin Ailey troop members. Plus, a screening of Mark Sadan’s documentary of the Isadora Duncan Dance Company. Through 1/25. www.artswestchester.org
Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT • Inside the Artists Studio: Small Scale Views: An exhibition of small-scale constructions of artist looking at artists.Including meticulously crafted sculptures, dioramas, prints, paintings and photographs from Joe Fig, Richard has, Lori Nix and Jimmy Sanders. Through 3/16. www.brucemuseum.org
Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT • In the Dark: Animal Survival Strategies: In this immersive and family-friendly exhibition, people of all ages discover how animals adapt to living in the dark. Explore four different environments – fragile caves, deep soil, and the forest and desert at night — to discover the unique and unusual ways that organisms have adapted to living without light. The show features natural dioramas of caves, deep soil, nighttime forest and desert, along with mechanical, electronic and digital interactives. 1/25-4/13. www.brucemuseum.org
Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT • Ed Clark: American Photojournalist: Ed Clark (1911-2000) was the quintessential American news photographer. Starting in 1929 at the Nashville Tennessean, and continuing into the 1960s as a staffer for the newsweekly LIFE, Clark covered the personalities and events that shaped the Golden Age of print media. 2/1-6/1. www.brucemuseum.org
Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Ave, Yonkers •The Art of Video Games: One of the first major exhibitions to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium. Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibit presents still images, large prints of in-game screen shots, historic game consoles and video footage of 80 games. Plus video interviews with the most influential artists and designers across five eras of game development who created some of the best games for 20 gaming systems that range from the Atari VCS to PlayStation 3. Visitors can play 5-featured games in the gallery including Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and Flower. 2/15- 5/18. www.hrm.org
Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay St., Katonah • Eye To I: 3,000 Years of Portraits: Borrowed primarily from private collections, the range of portraits is exceptional and few have been publicly exhibited. The earliest works include a carved Egyptian bust of Amenhotep III, dating from 1,500 BC, and a marble sculpture of a Roman priest from 125 AD. The exhibition features portraits from Europe, Asia, and South America as well as works by contemporary American artists who create portraits in astounding ways. The artists include Diane Arbus, Chuck Close, John Singleton Copley, Gustave Courbet, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Duane Hanson, Vik Muniz, Alice Neel, Shirin Neshat, Pablo Picasso, (shown here) Gordon Parks, Cindy Sherman, Auguste Rodin, and Andy Warhol, among many others. Through 2/16. www.katonahmuseum.org
Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase • Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible: This new exhibitwill feature a selection of over 40 paintings, along with rare works on paper and selected letters from self-described “visionary” artist Forrest Bess (1911–1977.) Bess created an extraordinary body of mostly small-scale canvases based on symbols he saw in his dreams, eventually formulating a theory that the unification of male and female within one’s body could produce immortality. Bess gained recognition in the New York art community, showing his work between 1950 and 1967 with the prominent artist and dealer Betty Parsons. 2/16-5/18. www.neuberger.org
Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase • Cleve Gray’s Threnody: Forty Years: Threnody (1972-73) is a 250-foot-long site-specific painting in 28 panels created by American artist Cleve Gray for the Neuberger Museum of Art on the occasion of its opening forty years ago. At the time, college students across the country were demonstrating against the conflict in Vietnam. Threnody, a lament for the dead on both sides of the war, soars 22 feet high, converting the exhibition gallery into a cathedral with tall vertical forms engaged in a “dance of death and life.” 1/12-3/23. www.neuberger.org
St Matthews Church, 382 Cantitoe St., Bedford • Art Show Bedford: This show features painting sculptures and photographs from 30 local artists like this cyanotype “Blue Printed Memories” by Heather Braxton. Preview them here. The show is juried by Anthony Kirk and curated by Susan Grissom and Leslie Henshaw. All proceeds from the show support 16 local charities such as the Boys & Girls Club, Hope’s Door, ASPCA Golden Outreach and the Mt. Kisco Childcare Center. Preview Party: Fri, 1/24: 6:30-9pm. Show: Sat, 1/25: 10am-7pm, Sun 1/26: 10am-4pm. www.artshowbedford.com
Stamford Museum & Nature Center, 39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, CT • A “BILLion” Bricks: LEGO T-Rex, Turtles & Trains: Bill Probert and ILUG (LEGO Users Group) returns for a fifth season with a LEGO landscape of epic proportions. Billions of LEGO bricks recreate the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a pre-historic park with T-Rex and velociraptors, and a LEGO train show with speeding subways, trains, roller coasters and mine trams. Through Sun, 3/2. Plus, special events where ILUG experts guide you in building your own LEGO creations. www.stamfordmuseum.org