Tobi Kahn Exhibit Offers Setting for Meditation
April 26 – June 27, 2010
OHRA 2003
Tobi Kahn, Acrylic on Canvas over wood
Each panel 88 x 60 x 2 inches
Collection of Jane Blaffer Owen
Presented in partnership with the SOL & ARLENE BRONSTEIN FOUNDATION in cooperation with Co-Trustee Integra Bank
TOBI KAHN: SKY AND WATER MEDITATION, an exhibition of seven monumental panels created by the noted New York artist Tobi Kahn, will be presented from April 26 – June 27 in the Old Gallery. On loan from the collection of Jane Blaffer Owen, these paintings are meant to create an atmosphere of contemplation for gatherings of celebration, remembrance and private meditation. Depictions of sky and water, the acrylic panels appear to float off the ground as an enveloping and continuous image. The series, entitled “Ohra,” was exhibited in 2003 at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, New York.
There have been more than 40 solo exhibitions of Tobi Kahn’s work since his debut at the Guggenheim Museum’s group exhibition, New Horizons in American Art, in 1985.
The Evansville Museum presented a nationally touring exhibition of his work in 2002.
Elizabeth Zutt: A Collector’s Eye Examines Art Bequest
March 28 – June 13, 2010
Presented in partnership with JOHN HARTMETZ & SHIRLEY L. WEBER
in cooperation with JOHN & MONA WHINREY, MICHAEL & PATTY AAKHUS and ALEXANDRA LEICH
Selected paintings, drawings, prints, textiles and sculpture from the collection of Elizabeth Zutt (1915-2006) will be featured in the Evansville Museum’s Main Gallery exhibition, ELIZABETH ZUTT: A COLLECTOR’S EYE, from March 28 - June 13. An Evansville native, Miss Zutt bequeathed to the Museum over 100 works from a diverse art collection developed over a lifetime of travel worldwide.
Miss Zutt was a graduate of the Ward-Belmont School in Nashville, Tennessee, and the University of Wisconsin. She completed a degree in library science at Columbia University in New York City and worked for 30 years at the Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library.
Alexandra Leich, a close friend of Miss Zutt, said in reflection that Betty Zutt “led a lifetime of spirited adventure and discovery which led her to the art of every culture; and all of it she embraced with passion.” The Elizabeth Zutt Collection includes 20th century work by regional artists whom Miss Zutt often befriended; as well as sculpture, drawings, prints, paintings and textiles from her travels throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.
Museum Celebrates 47th Anniversary of High School Art Show
March 18 – April 18, 2010
Presented in partnership with the EVANSVILLE MUSEUM GUILD
Now in its 47th year, the HIGH SCHOOL ART SHOW continues the tradition of honoring young artists from our region. Students currently enrolled in Grades 9 through 12 in public and private schools in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Pike, Posey, and Gibson Counties in Indiana will enter work in the categories of painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, ceramics, and commercial design.
The March 18 – April 18 Old Gallery exhibition will open with an Awards Reception on Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. Volunteers from the Museum Guild and Museum Docent Association anticipate nearly 1,000 entries for review by this year’s juror, University of Evansville Professor of Art William F. Brown.
Here is an example of the impact this exhibition continues to make in the lives of young artists in Southwestern Indiana:
Dear Evansville Museum Guild,
This was the second year that I took the challenge of entering a piece into the Annual High School Art Show. Last year, as a freshman, I did not have my piece accepted. That made this year twice as special. It was so amazing when I heard from my art teacher, Mrs. Woolsey, that I had been accepted.
The actual night of the award reception was very rewarding, too. Just the experience of seeing my drawing in the Museum was, for lack of a better description, AWESOME! I stood close to it and listened to what people said about it. I heard only good things and it just made my night. I also received a card from a teacher from an Evansville school saying how she enjoyed seeing my drawing in the show.
I just really want to thank everyone who was involved in the High School Art Show. Without the sponsors and volunteers who make this show possible, I would not have had the chance to enter my work. I truly appreciate the Evansville Museum Guild and their volunteers who took time in their busy lives to make this possible for high school students like me.
It was such a great experience. I can’t wait until I get a chance to write another thank you note again next year.
Sincerely,
Chase Bogan
Tecumseh High School (Sophomore)
ART OF AFRICA SHOWCASES OBJECTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF WARREN ROBBINS
February 7 - March 14, 2010
Presented in partnership with the MARGARET A. CARGILL FOUNDATION
Opening the Evansville Museum’s 2010 schedule is the nationally touring exhibition ART OF AFRICA: OBJECTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF WARREN ROBBINS, from the collection of the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communication and organized by International Art & Artists, Washington, DC. Educational materials for the exhibition were funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibition continues through March 14.
Warren Robbins, founder of the Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communication, was also the founder and director emeritus of the National Museum of African Art, now a branch of the Smithsonian Institution.
In Africa, art is central to life in traditional societies. At every stage of the human life cycle, hand-crafted visual forms are used to fulfill spiritual and practical needs. Art forms are visual representations of certain deities and ancestral spirits, which serve as intermediaries between humans and the spiritual world headed by a supreme deity. The 65 objects in this exhibition, including sculpture, textiles, beaded clothing and jewelry, broadly represent the creativity and diversity of artistic expressions of 30 cultures of sub-Saharan Africa.
RECENT GIFTS OF AFRICAN ART FEATURED IN MAIN GALLERY EXHIBITION
February 7 - March 14, 2010
Presented in partnership with the WILLIAM C. H. GRIMM, JR. and PHYLLIS R. GRIMM CHARITABLE TRUST and the EVANSVILLE COURIER AND PRESS
In 2008, nine pieces of Dogon sculpture were donated to the Evansville Museum’s permanent collection of African art by Palmina and Stephen S. Pace. The Dogon, an ethnic group located mainly in Mali, West Africa, are recognized for their carved wood sculpture. Continuing through March 14, SCULPTURE OF THE DOGON, a special exhibition of works in the Museum’s own holdings complements the temporary exhibition Art of Africa: Objects from the Collection of Warren Robbins.
Mid-States Craft Exhibition Featured in Main Gallery
December 6, 2009 – January 31, 2010
Presented in partnership with TAMARACK PETROLEUM COMPANY
in honor of LOUIS W. RITZ
The 41st MID-STATES CRAFT EXHIBITION , presented in partnership with TAMARACK PETROLEUM COMPANY in honor of LOUIS W. RITZ, will be the December 6, 2009 – January 31, 2010 Main Gallery exhibition.
The juror for this six-state competition is Jane Sauer, Director of the Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Known for her outstanding reputation among art collectors, museum curators, art critics, and artists, Jane has 34 years of experience as both an innovative studio artist and gallery
director. She has served in leadership roles as a volunteer with the National Advisory Board to the Washington University School of Art, St. Louis, Missouri; Friends of Contemporary Art, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa
Fe; and the American Craft Council, serving as Chair from 1997-2000.
Over $8,000 in purchase and merit awards, underwritten by Evansville individuals, corporations, foundations, and philanthropic organizations, were presented at the December 5 awards evening.
Folk Art In The Collection
Of Marty And Lisa Imbler
Is American Visions
September 20 – November 29, 2009
(detail) Devil and His Wife,
Carl McKenzie ,
Wood, 19 x 5 x 4 inches, 1985
From the Imbler Folk Art Collection
A selection of 125 works from the American folk art collection of Marty and Lisa Imbler will be included in the Evansville Museum’s September 20 – November 29 Main Gallery exhibition AMERICAN VISIONS: THE FOLK ART COLLECTION OF LISA AND MARTY IMBLER. Acquired over the past twenty years with the expert guidance of Mike Smith, Director of the At Home Gallery in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Imbler Collection has an emphasis on art of the American South and includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media work by some of the country’s best known self taught artists — James Harold Jennings, Howard Finster, Bill Traylor, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Leroy Almon, Benjamin Franklin Perkins, Minnie Evans, Mary Tillman Smith, and Thornton Dial.
American folk art of the 20th century is defined by its freedom of spirit. Not bound by the rules of an art academy or constraints of society, the folk artist feels instinctively the fundamentals of art — rhythm, design, balance, and proportion.
The general term “folk art” encompasses a wide range of paintings, drawings, and sculpture made by individuals who have not studied art formally but express through their subject matter their life experiences, personal surroundings, and inner visions. Grounded in craft traditions, many artists develop new art forms. Some are motivated to create from their passionate religious beliefs or sense of patriotism. Other folk artists, who are isolated physically or emotionally from the cultural mainstream, produce highly personal work known as “Outsider Art.”
With the organization of major public exhibitions and the publication of scholarly texts in recent years, American 20th century folk art is now recognized as an important part of the art history of our country.
University Art Faculty Collaboration
Marks 23rd Anniversary
August 30 - October 18, 2009
Presented in partnership with the Evansville Museum Contemporaries
The August 30 – October 18 Old Gallery exhibition EAST/WEST/NORTH: A COLLABORATION is presented in partnership with the EVANSVILLE MUSEUM CONTEMPORARIES.
Nearly forty members of the art faculties from the eastside campus of the University of Evansville, the westside campus of the University of Southern Indiana, and the northside campus of IVY Tech State College join together to present their current work in this highly anticipated 23rd annual collaborative exhibition.
Stunning Silverpoint Drawings
in Summer’s Featured Exhibition
June 28 - September 13, 2009
Eliza, Koo Schadler ,
Silverpoint and egg tempra on blue toned true gesso panel
6 x 8 inches, 2006, Collection of the Evansville Museum
Gift of the artist, 2009.009.0001
Presented in memory of Dr. William C. H. Grimm, Jr. in partnership with The William C. H. Grimm, Jr. and Phyllis R. Grimm Charitable Trust
From June 28 - September 13, the work of 27 artists from 15 states and Canada will be presented in the Main Gallery exhibition THE LUSTER OF SILVER: CONTEMPORARY METALPOINT DRAWINGS. Co-curated by participating artists Koo Schadler and Jeannine Cook, the project explores a subtle and lesser known but incredibly beautiful drawing technique. The medium referred to as silverpoint is the technique of drawing with a metal stylus. Although it has been used to inscribe surfaces since Classical times, silverpoint — or as it is more generally called “metalpoint” — was expressly employed in drawing from the late 14th century up to the early 17th century and was particularly favored in the Renaissance period in Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany. Master artists Raphael, Durer, Holbein, Rembrandt, and Rubens all used silverpoint in drawing studies.
Koo Schadler, co-curator writes, “The ubiquitous pencil (a piece of graphite placed inside a hollow tube of wood) wasn’t an option for a Renaissance draftsman — it hadn’t been invented yet. Instead most early artists learned to draw using a nib of metal stuck in a stylus. Copper, gold, lead, and other metals were used, but a silver point was the most popular.”
Through the concerted efforts of a growing number of contemporary artists, this medium is today enjoying its own Renaissance, as realist artists are finding new ways to explore, refine and make it their own.
The Evansville Museum, as an internationally recognized champion of contemporary realism, is proud to partner with this group of artists who are producing realist work in another, less traditional media.
Several participating artists were able to attend the Opening Reception on June 27.
(l to r) George Sorrels, Marjorie Williams-Smith, Koo Schadler, Thomas Wayne Rice, Jeannine Cook, Curtis Bartone, Pavel Ouporov and Suzanne Scherer with their son.
Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana and Evansville Museum Collaborate With Regional Artists In Annual Juried Exhibition
July 12 – August 23, 2009
Separate Shades, Pastel
Chris LaMarche, Evansville, Indiana
Best of Show Award, 16th Annual Working Together Exhibition
Presented in memory of VIRGINIA B. LOWENTHAL
For the 16th consecutive year, regional artists have participated in a juried exhibition entitled WORKING TOGETHER.. Presented in memory of VIRGINIA B. LOWENTHAL, the July 12 – August 23 Old Gallery exhibition is presented in cooperation with the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana. Juror for this year's competition is John P. Begley, Adjunct Associate Professor of Art and Director of the University of Louisville's Allen R. Hite Art Institute.
The first to hold the position of gallery director at the University of Louisville, Begley moved to the Hite Art Institute in 2001 after serving as Director of the Louisville Visual Arts Association for 18 years.
In addition to directing the galleries at the University of Louisville and coordinating the Curatorial Studies concentration in its Masters program, Begley is an accomplished artist who maintains an individual studio practice combining a variety of his interests and training, including drawing and printmaking, book arts, installation, and intermedia combinations that examine the nature of seeing, making, and thinking about the world of art.
Recent Gifts from Carolyn Plochmann & Stephen S. Pace Focus of Special Tribute Exhibition in the Old Gallery
April 26 – July 5, 2009
Caretaker, Carolyn Plochmann, Acrylic on canvas, 2006,
Gift of the artist
Window gazing with Genghis (Portrait of Pam Pace),
Stephen S. Pace, Oil on Canvas, 1993, 42 x 52 inches,
Gift of Dr. Stephen S. Pace and Palmina F. Pace
Paintings and drawings by two artists with longstanding associations with the Evansville Museum are featured in the April 26 – July 5 Old Gallery exhibition LASTING LEGACIES: RECENT GIFTS OF THE WORK OF CAROLYN PLOCHMANN AND STEPHEN S. PACE.
In 2008, the preeminent American painter Dr. Stephen S. Pace and his wife, Palmina F. Pace, presented 20 paintings and drawings to the Museum's permanent collection. In addition to this generous gift of work by Dr. Pace, the couple donated two works by artist Milton Avery (1893-1965) and their collection of African sculpture.
The recipient of many awards and recognitions, Stephen Pace was honored with the Evansville Museum's Expatriate Artist Award for his distinguished career in the visual arts. The award was presented in conjunction with a major retrospective of his work in our Main Gallery in 1992.
Beginning in the 1950s, Stephen Pace became a prominent member of the New York group of abstract expressionist painters. His work, hailed by the New York Times for its "highly sophisticated use of color and joyous compositions", is in public collections across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. For six decades, Pace's vibrant paintings, washed with vivid colors and bold brush strokes, have brightened the world.
The exhibition also will include 23 paintings and drawings by Carolyn Plochmann that span from the 1940s to 2008. Generously donated by the artist over the past three years, these gifts bring the Museum's present holdings of her work to an impressive total of 34. Plochmann, a prominent American painter who resides in Southern Illinois, has been a friend of our Museum for 50 years. In 1990, the Evansville Museum organized a national tour of her work and published A Charmed Vision: The Art of Carolyn Plochmann, an illustrated book available for purchase through The Museum Shop.
Plochmann's work is collected nationally and her exhibition record includes 40 solo exhibitions and over 50 group shows. In the course of a six-decade career, she has received numerous awards for her work. Former Metropolitan Museum Director Thomas Hoving praised her for creating work that is "compellingly poetic" and "enhanced with fabulous harmonies of lines and delicate nuances of color." •
Kentucky Artist
Laurin D. Notheisen
Named 2009
Martha and Merritt DeJong
Memorial Artist-in-Residence
April 5 – June 21, 2009
The Bike Path, Laurin D. Notheisen
Graphite pencil, 23 x 36 inches, 2006
Collection of Ellen and Ed Kirtley,
Howey in the Hills, Florida
Exhibition presented in partnership with the
MARTHA & MERRITT DEJONG FOUNDATION, the
DAUS FAMILY FOUNDATION in memory of JOHN J. DAUS, JR.,
and MR. & MRS. JAMES OWEN COLEMAN
The Artist’s Residency is presented in partnership with the
CHARLES & ALEXA JAMISON FUND OF THE
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SARASOTA COUNTY, INC.
in memory of ALEXA JAMISON & PEGRAM HARRISON
Laurin D. Notheisen has been selected as the Evansville Museum’s 2009 Martha and Merritt deJong Memorial Artist-in-Residence. In conjunction with her residency and week-long classes, 40 of Notheisen’s works will be featured in the Main Gallery from April 5 – June 21. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the MARTHA & MERRITT DEJONG FOUNDATION, the DAUS FAMILY FOUNDATION in memory of John J. Daus, Jr., and Mr. & Mrs. James Owen Coleman. The artist’s visit is sponsored by CHARLES & ALEXA JAMISON FUND OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SARASOTA COUNTY, INC. in memory of ALEXA JAMISON & PEGRAM HARRISON.
Born in 1951, Notheisen grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and attended children’s classes on Saturdays at the Art Institute. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and her Master of Fine Arts degree in lithography from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. In 1975, she was hired by Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green where she continues to teach basic design and printmaking.
Notheisen’s participation in the Evansville Museum’s 1973 Mid-States Art Exhibition was the beginning of an extensive succession of local, regional and national juried competitions in which she has participated, as well as solo, group and invitational exhibitions.
In addition to the Evansville Museum’s collection, Notheisen’s work may be found in corporate and public collections including Brown-Forman,Louisville Gas and Electric, Mammoth Cave National Park, Arkansas State University and Austin Peay University. Her work was featured in the KET video production Looking at Painting, Part 1 – Realism, by Robert Tharsing.•
The Museum Celebrates the 46th Anniversary of the High School Art Show
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March 19 – April 19, 2009
Presented in partnership with the
EVANSVILLE MUSEUM GUILD
Now in its 46th year, the HIGH SCHOOL ART SHOW continues the tradition of honoring young artists from our region. Students currently enrolled in Grades 9 through 12 in public and private schools in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Pike, Posey, and Gibson Counties in Indiana will enter work in the categories of painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, ceramics, and commercial design.
Presented in partnership with the EVANSVILLE MUSEUM GUILD, the March 19 – April 19 Old Gallery exhibition opened with an Awards Reception on Thursday, March 19. Volunteers from the Museum Guild and Museum Docent Association anticipate nearly 1,000 entries for this year's juror, Erika Myers-Bromwell, to review.
Erika Myers-Bromwell, a native of Maryland, was named Director of the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art in August of 2008 after serving as Assistant Director for six years. As Director, Myers-Bromwell curates a broad range of contemporary exhibitions at the Gallery and implements collaborative programming with non-profit entities in New Harmony and the Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center / Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Galleries at the University of Southern Indiana.
Myers-Bromwell received her undergraduate degree at St. Mary's College of Maryland and earned her graduate degree from the University of Southern Indiana. •
