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.
An exhibition of artwork by the founders of the Op Art movement is now on view at the Housatonic Museum of Art. The exhibit, entitled “Masters of Op Art,” features 13 dynamic pieces that are each an optical experience of color and form.
Op Art, or optical art, was a short-lived, yet innovative global offshoot of the Kinetic art movement that dominated the mid-1960s. A form of abstract art, Op Art gives the illusion of movement through the use of precise pattern and color, or conflicting patterns that emerge and overlap. The result: astonishing compositions that make the viewer an active participant by playing with their perceptions.
Responding to advancements of the time, including nuclear energy, aerospace and computer science, Op Art questioned the reality and possibilities of visual perception. The innovative use of optical illusion was quickly commercialized, finding its way into everyday design and advertisements, and becoming synonymous with the 1960s. Today, Op Art is hailed for its visionary spirit and fearless experimentation.
The “Masters of Op Art” exhibition contains works by the world-renowned father of the Op Art movement, Victor Vasarely, as well as founders Josef Albers, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Josef Levi, and Henry Charles Pearson.
“Op artists were fascinated by perception and the effects on the eye. Their repetition, precision, and wild use of color draws viewers in, where they will enjoy the playful geometric figures, and swear the compositions are moving,” said Robbin Zella, Director of the Housatonic Museum of Art.
The exhibition will be on view through October 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 print-on-demand catalog with an essay by Sarah Churchill, Adjunct Instructor of Art History at Housatonic Community College 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.
Did you know you have superpowers? Join the Community Mindfulness Project (CMP) and Education Assistant Lorena Sferlazza outdoors in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden with your kids and loved ones to learn ways we can build RESILIENCE, through guided meditation inspired by current exhibition Lucia Hierro: Marginal Costs! Perfect for families with children of all ages.
The Aldrich has partnered with the Community Mindfulness Project (CMP) for this family program series around our free Third Weekends. The series is inspired by the Museum’s current exhibitions and offered to nurture the growth and healing of our local community. CMP was formed in 2014 to offer a variety of science-based mindfulness and heart-opening practices to support physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being. With an emphasis on community, CMP offers secular group meditations in libraries, wellness centers, and other community hubs, with weekly sessions free and open to the public for all ages, experience levels, and abilities. To learn more about CMP, please visit:https://www.communitymindfulnessproject.org/.
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.
The Housatonic Museum of Art is proud to announce the opening of a new exhibit, Lost Man Blues: Jon Schueler – Art and War, curated by Marissa Roth. The show will feature twenty-six paintings and selected writings by the esteemed, prolific American abstract expressionist that reflect his war experiences. The exhibition, which takes its title from a piece commemorating the disappearance of a plane belonging to his squadron, will open on September 2 and be on view through October 8, 2021. Curator Marissa Roth will offer a talk about the artist’s work on Thursday, September 2 at 6pm.
Celebrated for his colorful, large-scale abstract paintings and pastoral compositions of nature, Lost Man Blues: Jon Schueler – Art and War is a landmark exhibition that encompasses one of the persistent motifs that Schueler infused into his paintings and writings – his experiences during World War II. His memories as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Corps and undiagnosed PTSD haunted him and found expression in his post-war work.
These oils, painted in New York from 1979-1989, form a powerful and cohesive visual testament to his post-war struggles, battle for memory, and creative expression. Additionally, the exhibition will feature a collection of paintings to serve as a visual counterpart – emotionally charged responses to nature and his memories of the changeable sky and seascape of his beloved Scotland.
A masterful writer, the exhibition will also feature a selection of passages from Schueler’s memoir, “The Sound of Sleat: A Painter’s Life”. The pieces reflect both his harrowing war recollections and ruminations of his creative process.
“When reflecting on the arc of an artist’s life and career, we find that his or her own words and thoughts provide the most telling details and authentic backdrop to the work and convey its full breadth. The binding together of years of personal writings reveals the artistic journey in its totality and offers the most meaningful context,” said Curator Marissa Roth.
“With his work included in collections throughout the world, we are thrilled to bring a remarkable showing of Jon Schueler’s work to our region. These paintings and writings illustrate the impacts of his war experiences and contrasting atmospheric reverence of the force of nature,” said Robbin Zella, Director of the Housatonic Museum of Art.
Schueler’s work is included in international collections such as the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Edinburgh), Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), and the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra). See www.Jonschueler.com.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Marissa Roth is a freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer. She was part of the Los Angeles Times staff that won a Pulitzer Prize for Best Spot News, for its coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. She is the author of Infinite Light: A Photographic Meditation on Tibet, with a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Burning Heart: A Portrait of the Philippines. One Person Crying: Women and War, her 35-year personal photo essay that addresses the immediate and lingering impact of war on women in different cultures and countries around the world, is a traveling exhibition with a forthcoming book. She is also a curator and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London.
Visitors must be prepared to comply with social distancing rules and wear protective face masks. To plan a visit, please call 203-332-5052, or check the museum’s website, https://museum.housatonic.edu/.
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.
Join us for outdoor artmaking with Licensed Art Therapist Aimee Jette to learn about the benefits of creating art in nature. Jette will lead a nature-focused collage-making activity and provide insights on how you can use artmaking to increase your personal wellness.
Timeslots are available at 10 am and 12pm. Register by calling 203-834-1896 x 28.
DROP-IN HANDS-ON PROGRAM: Discovery Sundays
Sundays August 1 through September 26, 11 AM-4 PM
Drop in at the Museum’s Hartman Education Center for a quick painting lesson before heading down to the river or out in the garden for an afternoon of plein air painting.
All materials included, free with Museum Admission. Fun for the whole family!
Join us for an afternoon of fun as you explore the exciting fall exhibitions on view @The MATT. Families are invited to participate in the Exploration Activities in the Studio. The Art of Yum Café will be open with delicious meals, snacks, coffees, and sweet treats available for purchase.
CELEBRATING HISPANIC HERITAGE
Showcasing the vibrant diversity of artistic expression of artists with origins in Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean & Central and South America from the Museum Collection.
DISCOVERING NEW YORK’S WRAPPER: THE ART OF FRANCIS HINES
Best known for wrapping the Washington Square Arch in 1980, Hines’ story had been lost until his art, which had been discarded after his death, was rescued by Waterburian Jared Whipple.
MICHELE TRAGAKISS: GEOMETRY AND GESTURE
This 2021 MIXMASTER winner harnesses both geometric and gestural elements in her bold, abstract paintings
Want a little help creating a masterpiece? Art Instructor Bobbi Eike Mullen provides informal instruction on painting with watercolors and landscape painting every Sunday in September between 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Remember free-to-use supplies are available during visitor center hours! No registration required.