The show features nine images by artists whose work helped define the art movement, including Robert Bechtle, Charles Bell, John Baeder, and Arne Besser.
Primarily an American art movement, photorealism emerged in the late 1960s in reaction to Abstract Expressionism and as a counterpoint to Pop Art. With a style that prizes accuracy and precision, photorealism bases each work on a photograph. In exquisite detail, photorealist artists frequently recreated everyday scenes – largely Americana with motorcycles, roadside diners and gas stations – and often utilized the qualities of the camera lens: sharp focus and depth of field.
The snapshot aesthetic did not appeal to everyone. Photorealism was criticized for using cameras, projectors or grid systems to achieve exactitude. Yet today, the style is finding renewed interest, with viewers awed by the artists’ ability to create precise paintings that look like photographs.
“Embracing the qualities of the camera is the hallmark of this movement, and with intense concentration and painstaking detail, each photorealist artist developed their own style, independent of one another, yet all strikingly powerful,” said Robbin Zella, Director of the Housatonic Museum of Art.
The exhibition will be on view through December, 2021. An appointment to visit the museum will be necessary, and visitors must be prepared to comply with social distancing rules and wear protective face masks. A video essay about the exhibition is available by visiting the museum’s website, www.HousatonicMuseumorg. To plan a visit, please call 203-332-5052.
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.
Housatonic Museum of Art is pleased to present its newest exhibition, Of Woman Born. The exhibit features a selection of paintings, photographs and sculpture that explore the ways in which male dominance has manifested itself in familial, social, legal, political, religious and economic systems—patriarchal structures that, over the centuries, have continually been used to dominate, oppress and exploit women.
The exhibit traces the history of women from the Paleolithic Age to present day and explores the various methods, philosophies, policies and practices, as well as legal strategies employed by patriarchal power to exert maximum control over women’s bodies.
“There is nothing revolutionary whatsoever about the control of women’s bodies by men,” said author, poet and feminist, Adrienne Rich. “The woman’s body is the terrain on which patriarchy is erected.”
Artists in this exhibit look at a range of topics including infanticide, abortion, the institution of motherhood, domestic violence, prostitution, pornography, gendercide, plastic surgery and ageism. The exhibition includes works by Nicholas Africano, Lynne Augeri, Suzanne Benton, Aidan Boyle, Antonio Canova, Albrecht Durer, Donna Ferrato, Paul Georges, Sante Graziane, Lori Petchers/Faith Baum, Michael Stone, and Francisco Zuniga.
“Of Woman Born champions the great strides made by women, such as the right to vote and equal access to education, but there is still more work to be done,” said Robbin Zella, Director of the museum. “Women’s rights are human rights and that includes freedom from discrimination, freedom from violence, and freedom from gender inequality.”
Visit www.HousatonicMuseum.org to view the exhibit online. The Housatonic Museum of Art is located on the Housatonic Community College campus, 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport, CT. It is home to one of the premier college art collections in the United States. The museum’s collection offers the opportunity to view works that span the history of art from the ancient to the contemporary and is on continuous display throughout the 300,000 square foot facility. Visit www.HousatonicMuseum.org to learn more.
On Thursday, September 2, the Housatonic Museum of Art (HMA) will reopen the Burt Chernow Galleries and the Museum with a grand collective exhibition: Big Art Bash 2021.
The wide-ranging group show will feature FOUR exhibits of work by Jon Schueler, Jongil Ma, Eric Chiang and an exhibition that explores male dominance of women. The public is invited to attend this exciting, FREE opening event from 5:30pm – 7pm, which will include live music by the Joe Mennonna Trio and light refreshments. HMA is located on the Housatonic Community College (HCC) campus, located at 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport, CT.
The landmark exhibition ‘Lost Man Blues: Jon Schueler – Art and War’, curated by Marissa Roth, will feature twenty-six paintings and selected writings by the esteemed, prolific American abstract expressionist that reflect his war experiences. This exhibition, which takes its title from a piece commemorating the disappearance of a plane belonging to his squadron, will be on view through October 8, 2021.
South Korean sculptor and Brooklyn resident, Jongil Ma will celebrate the completion of his commissioned work, ‘Be There When You Return’, which was funded by Elizabeth Fray, the Werth Family Foundation and HCC. Created during the pandemic, the piece will greet students and visitors alike when they come back to campus. The work is an intricate arrangement of raw and painted cut wood strips fastened with metal rods, nuts and bolts, colored screws, cable zip ties, and stained ropes. A tumult of red, purple, yellow and green colors spiral, bend and intertwine to create a lively and welcoming sculpture that speaks of joy and the spirit of resilience. This piece is part of the museum’s permanent collection and will be on continuous view in the Lafayette Hall atrium.
Taiwanese artist and Westport resident, Erik Chiang, will exhibit a series of works that are visual depictions of quantum mechanics, mathematics and music. Chiang’s large-scale triptych, ‘Are We Born Connected?’, which is also the title of the show, features cellos floating amongst the moon and stars. Chiang’s work launches HCC’s upcoming 2021/22 STEAM: Space Initiative, which will include a guest speaker program to explore the relationship between music and modern physics. The exhibit will be on view in the lobby gallery of the Performing Arts Center in Lafayette Hall through May 18, 2022.
Suzanne Benton of Ridgefield, Sherri Wolfgang of Westport, Faith Baum and Lori Petchers of Fairfield and Aidan Boyle of New Rochelle, NY are featured artists in the exhibit ‘Of Woman Born’ that explores the patriarchal structures that, over the centuries, have been used to oppress, exploit, and dominate women. Also included in the show are Paul Georges, Nicholas Africano, Lynne Augeri, Francisco Zuniga, Antonio Canova, Albrecht Durer, Michael Stone and Donna Ferrato. This exhibit, located on the second floor of the atrium in Lafayette Hall, will remain on view until June 30, 2022.
“The Big Art Bash 2021 will celebrate the first time the museum has opened its doors to the public since the start of the pandemic. We’re thrilled to mark this special occasion with four spectacular exhibits that are sure to engage our collective sense of wonder, compassion, and intellect,” said Robbin Zella, Director of the Housatonic Museum of Art.
Please check https://www.housatonic.edu/ for COVID-19 updates regarding campus accessibility. An appointment to visit the museum may be necessary, and visitors must be prepared to comply with social distancing rules and wear protective face masks. For additional information please call 203-332-5052.
Housatonic Museum of Art 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.
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.
The Festival of Trees is open during regular museum hours, Thursday-Sunday, noon-5pm.
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.
Do you love to sing along to holiday songs? Or how about non-holiday songs? Grab your friends and ugliest sweaters and join us for The MATT’s first-ever karaoke event in the new-and-improved Performing Arts Center! If you don’t like to sing, you can also choose to lip-sync to your favorite tunes.
Tickets include two complimentary beverages with additional food and drinks available for purchase
from The Art of Yum Café @ The MATT.
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.
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.
The Festival of Trees is open during regular museum hours, Thursday-Sunday, noon-5pm.
with Bryan LeBeau, Professor, Georgetown University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Author
Join LeBeau for a close look at Currier & Ives’s political commentaries and graphic humor while addressing some of the more troubling aspects of their time and the challenges the nation faced. The focus will begin with Currier & Ives’s political broadsides on the Civil War –- the politics and issues leading to secession and the shifting and often conflicting perceptions of the war and its aftermath. LeBeau also addresses the least well known, and perhaps most troubling images to contemporary viewers including Currier & Ives’s portrayal of immigrants and African Americans, bothersome images that reflect an accurate rendering of a then popular opinion. To close, LeBeau discusses the decline, demise and eventual revival of Currier & Ives imagery.