Housatonic Museum of Art, located on the Housatonic Community College campus in Bridgeport, CT, is pleased to announce Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection, on view from February 3 – March 25, 2022.
Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection brings together a rich array of works on paper, breaking down the various methods and materials used in modern artistic practice. Showcasing 50 superb prints and drawings, this exhibition samples the breadth and beauty of International Arts & Artists’ own Hechinger Collection, which has the unique theme of hand tools and hardware. Focusing on the creative process, the featured works represent a variety of media and disciplines at an artist’s disposal. Audiences will learn about the intricacies of these assorted techniques, and directly see how an artist makes a statement through the graphic arts. Making Your Mark’s celebration of the visual and conceptual aspects of drawing and printmaking educates and inspires in the best way, leaving viewers engaged, and rapt with curiosity.
Some of the most influential artists of the twentieth century are featured in the exhibition, including Berenice Abbott, Jim Dine, Richard Estes, Walker Evans, Howard Finster, Ke Francis, Jacob Lawrence, Hans Namuth, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Lucas Samaras, Aaron Siskind, and Wayne Thiebaud.
Making Your Mark begins by establishing drawing as its foundation, then moves through five distinct printing styles, then shifts to the contemporary method of screen printing. The final technique, photography — whose name unites the Greek words for light (photos) and drawing (graphé)—brings the exhibition full circle, returning the viewer to the inception of mark-making. Each section highlights the complexities of the unique artistic process, and a timeless affinity for the beauty of lines and the bewitching utility of tools as instruments of craft.
The exhibition will be on view in the museum’s Burt Chernow Galleries, located in Lafayette Hall at 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport. There will be no opening reception. Tickets must be reserved in advance of visiting, and masks must be worn at all times. Visit www.HousatonicMuseum.org to sign up.
Scheduled U.S tour dates for Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection are as follows: Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock, CA (September 18, 2021 – January 3, 2022); Susquehanna Museum of Art, Harrisburg, PA (June 10, 2022 – September 18, 2022); Hillstrom Museum of Art at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN (November 21, 2022 –January 27, 2023).
Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection is organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
About International Arts & Artists
International Arts & Artists (IA&A) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally. Since 1995, IA&A has fulfilled its mission by providing programs and services to artists, arts institutions, cultural organizations, and the public—reaching over 2.1 million people. Visit www.artsandartists.org for more information.
About the Housatonic Museum of Art
Housatonic Museum of Art is located on the Housatonic Community College campus, located at 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport. It is home to one of the premier college art collections in the country, spanning the history of art from the ancient to the contemporary, and is on continuous display throughout the 300,000 square foot facility. The museum also hosts changing exhibitions in the Burt Chernow Galleries, and engaging lectures, workshops, films, special events and programs throughout the year, both in person and online. Visit www.HousatonicMuseum.org to learn more.
Registration will close the Tuesday before each session.
Improve your energy and stamina as you move to the music with certified Tai Chi instructor Joe Atkins. Joe will teach gentle movements that improve balance, flexibility, and mobility and reduce stiffness and soreness. Wear comfortable clothes. All levels welcome!
Museum Members call 203-753-0381 ext 117 to register for Tai Chi
Support provided by the Connecticut Community Foundation.
Come check out the Gallery’s teen program on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:30 pm. Bring your friends, explore the museum’s diverse collection, and make art. Recent sessions have focused on drawing, painting, and photography. Bus passes will be provided. For teens ages 13–19.
No registration required; meet by the couches in the Gallery lobby.
For our current vaccination and mask requirements, visit https://artgallery.yale.edu/hours-and-directions
Turn on your away message, shut off Zoom, and break out your ugly holiday sweater. The winter holiday season officially begins at the Wadsworth with the first look at our annual Festival of Trees & Traditions. Spend some quality time with friends, enjoy delicious bites, festive drinks, music, and more in the lavishly decorated galleries. Must be twenty-one and over to attend. Tickets are limited, registration required. $25; $15 members.
Join us in celebrating the holidays by enjoying trees and wreaths decorated by community members, artists, and organizations. All items are for sale and help support the museum’s special exhibitions, educational programs, and operating expenses. Click here for the schedule of entertainment.
A $5 fundraising surcharge is added to all museum admissions during Festival of Trees & Traditions. Skip the line! Book your tickets online.
The Teacher Leadership Program is a free, one-hour workshop on Zoom for educators of all levels and disciplines that meets at 4:00 pm on the first Thursday of the month throughout the academic year. The sessions are led by Jessica Sack, the Jan and Frederick Mayer Curator of Public Education; Wurtele Gallery Teachers; and Education Department staff. In this program, educators explore innovative ways to connect their curricula and interest in art with the Yale University Art Gallery’s collection. The sessions also address online and in-person teaching techniques.
Closed captions will be available in English.
Registration required; to register, visit https://bit.ly/3wTayr7.
Author Jack Lowery’s recent book It was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful chronicles the work of Gran Fury, an artist collective which formed as the visual branch of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Gran Fury played a crucial role in defining the visual landscape of AIDS activism, utilizing art and design as a tool to campaign against corporate greed, government inaction, stigma, and public indifference to the AIDS epidemic. Lowery is joined in conversation by author Andrea Lawlor, whose recent novel Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl offers a speculative history of early ’90s identity politics during the heyday of ACT UP. 5pm gallery viewing, 6pm conversation.
Meet in the galleries before the conversation to view a selection of work by Donald Moffett (MATRIX 134), artist, AIDS activist, and founding member of Gran Fury, that marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of his participation in MATRIX at the Wadsworth. Free with required reservation.
$50 (Museum Members 10% discount); limited to 22 adults 18+, all materials included
with Linda Turner, Gardens Coordinator and Petie Reed, Perennial Harmony
Create your own one-of-a-kind natural wreath from scratch. Hosts will provide an assortment of greens, bows, pinecones, and other seasonal decor and guide you through the process of making a 24″ wreath. Program to benefit the Museum’s historic gardens.
Registration will close the Wednesday before each session.
Join Michele Morcey as she teaches strength-building poses, balances, and flows that link breath with movement. Students will explore pranayama (breath work), meditation, and final relaxation. While this practice is more vigorous than a gentle yoga class, it is accessible to most levels, as it is led with the idea that all practices serve us differently. Bring your own mat.
Museum Members call 203-753-0381 ext 117 to register for Yoga-Intermediate Vinyasa
Support provided by the Connecticut Community Foundation.
Registration will close the Thursday before each session.
Leave behind today’s concerns and distractions with Mindfulness teacher, Ranji Latchmansingh, as he leads you through a guided mindfulness session utilizing art. Interact with art in a different way as you learn to slow down and focus.
Support provided by the Connecticut Community Foundation.