Events/Programs
The Primacy of Paper: Recent works from the collection
12:00 AM - 11:55 PM
Opening January 15 in the Linda and Vincent Buonanno Works on Paper Gallery. Contemporary drawings and prints can function as key components of an artist’s practice, and in recent years, works on paper have come to challenge the primacy of painting and sculpture. This selection, intended to complement the exhibition Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line, features recent works by Shahzia Sikander, Julie Mehretu (MFA 1997), Kiki Smith, Sol LeWitt, and others for whom the act and process of drawing plays a key role in the creation or rejection of meaning.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Presence through Process
12:00 AM - 11:55 PM
Opening January 15 in the Bill and Nancy Tsiaras Gallery in Honor of Aaron Siskind.
The desire to depict the perceptual and physical experience of the human body, rather than merely its appearance, can serve as a catalyst for photographic experimentation. This exhibition presents works by Emmet Gowin, Vik Muniz, Frederick Sommer, Lesley Dill, and other artists exploring the poetics and politics of the human figure. Featured is a cross-section of photographic processes from the latter half of the 20th century, from camera manipulation to more direct registers of presence.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Lecture: Lijiang Studio and the World Heritage Beer Garden Picnic
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
In 2004 Jay Brown founded Lijiang Studio, an arts practice based in a rural farming village in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. Since then, Lijiang Studio has facilitated and produced about 80 residencies and 25 exhibitions in urban, rural, domestic, public, and private settings. These events are co-curated with the artists involved and with members of that local community. Highlights include Jianghu Mobile Video, Kunming, 2005, To Raise One Question After Another, Beijing 2007, Another China, Berlin 2007, World Heritage Beer Garden Picnic, Lashihai, 2008. Before Lijiang Studio, Jay worked at the Nature Conservancy’s China Program, based in Yunnan and at various museums including the National Palace Musuem in Taipei and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Jay graduated from Princeton University in 2001 with a degree in Art History and certifcate in East Asian Studies.
Co-sponsored by RISD Museum and Graduate Studies and the Department of Modern Culture and Media at Brown University. This lecture is free and open to the public.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Providence Athenaeum's Salon-Queen of the Insects: The Art of the Butterfly
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Always fashionable, the butterfly motif has adorned a wide variety of design objects, from porcelain to prints to jewelry. RISD Museum Costume and Textiles Assistant Curator Laurie Brewer, whose specialty is ecological fashion history, got her inspiration for this show from the Victorian use of butterfly wings in jewelry design. Among topics she will discuss at her Salon are Victorian era exotic, naturalist, and historical representations of the butterfly; ecology and the use of animal materials in fashion history; the romance of the butterfly in western and eastern design, and the journeys enfolded in the history of the exhibit, from the journey a collector would take to capture a specimen, to the travel a book takes to enter a collection. This latter is significant because Laurie took a journey of her own in curating the show, crossing Benefit Street to work with Athenaeum Collections Librarian Kate Wodehouse to find images and quotes from our rare and special collections for her exhibit. Free and open to the public.
For more information, www.providenceathenaeum.org.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
SOLD OUT-Power Drawing: Professional Development
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
This one-day workshop for cultural educators, community organizers, and teachers shares personalized plans for making drawing a medium for learning across a variety of settings. Led by Eileen Adams, director of the Campaign for Drawing, the workshop will explore the concepts of gesture, line, copying, and self portraiture. Participants will develop drawing activities and learn how to plan a Big Draw at their sites. SOLD OUT; Fee $25 includes all workshop supplies and lunch; seating limited; pre-registration required.
If you would like to be put on a wait list contact Deborah Clemons at dclemons@risd.edu or 401.454.6530.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A Grand Tour: Introduction to Art History II
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Explore the history of art, from the 18th century to the present day, in the galleries of The RISD Museum with specialist curators. Each of the four monthly Sunday sessions will include a discussion of major artists and primary texts. Dates: February 14, March 14, April 11, + May 16. Pre-registration required. Members, $180; non-members, $220 (includes readings). To register, contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Gallery Night-Museum galleries open until 9pm
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
All the galleries open; free admission 5-9pm.
Member Preview Day for Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line, 10am-9pm
Join us next month, March 18 for our usual Gallery Night activities - adult drop-in art class (free, all supplies provided, no experience necessary), refreshments + music in the Main Gallery.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Screening: Networks 2009 Artist Video Portraits
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
NetWorks 2009 films showcase the work of selected contemporary Rhode Island visual artists. This is an ongoing project that supports and documents artists, and was developed by Dr. Joseph Chazan and Umberto Crenca of AS220.
Artists featured in the video portraits include: Steven Easton, Stephen Brownell, Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Nicole Chesney, Bob Dilworth, Astrid, Umberto Crenca, Tony Ramos, James Reynolds, William Schaff, Neal Walsh, and Thomas Sgouros.
Free and open to the public.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Exhibition Opens - Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Pat Steir has been a major figure in American art since the 1970s, creating some of the most ambitious and challenging drawings of the late 20th century. Drawing Out of Line presents 40 years of her work, focusing on her exploration of the vocabulary of drawing. Introduced with a recreation of her wall drawing Self-Portrait: An Installation, first created for the New Museum in New York in 1987, this survey presents her drwaings on paper, which are dramatically varied in scale, in relation to her paintings and prints.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Artist Lecture: Providence to Prudence: Art Expressions in Clay
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Ceramic artist and sculptor Allison Newsome discusses how her work addresses issues of the environment and human interaction. She currently teaches at Harvard University and the Boston Museum School for the Arts. This lecture is presented by the Pottery and Porcelain Club.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sitings 2010: Museum as Action
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sitings 2010: Museum as Action is a competition that invites student responses to the Museum's architectural idiosyncracies, collection, and habits of visitation. This year's winning artists are Celeste Wilson (BFA 2010), for her installation Untitled in the Associates Bridge, and Lee Johnson and Benjamin Peterson (both MFA 2011), for their installation Column in the Salter Media Gallery. New York- based artist Spencer Finch (MFA 1989) juried the competition.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Free-for-all Saturday: Animate This!
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Explore different animation techniques, from early silhouette animation to computer-generated imagery, and bring your own character to life.
Free-For-All Saturday: Gallery explorations, hands-on art workshops, performances, and film screenings offer engaging ways for children and adults to discover art and design in RISD Museum’s collection and special exhibitions. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Held the last Saturday of the month, free all day.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Last Day to see Nature/Artifice: Contemporary Works from the Collection
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
The relationship between nature and artifice, reality and fiction, is central to a selection of contemporary paintings, sculpture, and video in the Museum’s collection. In some cases, natural materials - a lemon, thistles, or rocks, for example - are placed in artful arrangements or altered to extend their significance. Conversely, manufactured materials - ranging from audiotape to flip-flop sandals - may be configured to resemble natural phenomena such as a cascading waterfall or the Caribbean Sea. A number of the featured works were acquired recently and are being exhibited for the first time.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Art Shots: From Converted Barns to Museum Galleries: Experimentation and Development in 20th-Century Art
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
These engaging gallery talks focus on individual works of art from the perspective of student artists and art historians. This discussion is led by Brown University students Reina Shibata and Montana Blanco.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Conversation: Pat Steir and Kathan Brown, Drawing Lessons #1
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Pat Steir joins in conversation with Kathan Brown, founding director of San Francisco’s Crown Point Press, one of the most prestigious print shops in the country. Steir has made prints at Crown Point since 1977, giving Brown incomparable insight into Steir’s working process. RISD Museum curator Jan Howard moderates this discussion about how prints took on the role of drawings for Steir. Co-sponsored by RISD’s Printmaking Department.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Art Shots: Presence through Process
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Diverse photographic processes from the latter half of the 20th century capture the poetics and politics of the human figure. Brown University’s Mazie Harris and RISD’s Isaac Wingfield (MFA 2010), student curators of this exhibit, discuss varied conceptual and technical strategies used by the artists as well as their perspectives on artists and historians working with museum collections. Meet in Chace Center lobby.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Tuesday Talks Series: Museum as Muse
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Artists and designers delve into The RISD Museum’s costume and textile storage to mine historical references and exemplary craftsmanship. Held in conjunction with the exhibitions Queen of the Insects and Designing Tradition, this series explores how work of the past generates new work. Master dyer Joan Morris merges painting, printing, gilding, and shaped-resist dyeing in her work, while artist Jane Masters uses traditional embroidery and wallpaper patterns as her inspiration. Fee: $15 per lecture, non-members ($35 for the 3-lecture series); free to members. Other dates for the series are April 13 + May 18. For more information or to register, contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Gallery Talk: Drawing Out of Line
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Independent curator Susan Harris and RISD Museum Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Jan Howard discuss the exhibition in the galleries.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Drawings Lessons 2: Pat Steir + Julie Mehretu
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Pat Steir and Julie Mehretu (RISD MFA 1997) will discuss how drawing became the basis of their work in all media. Susan Harris, co-curator for Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line, will then moderate a conversation on the view of drawing during the period when each of the artists came to prominence, with a special focus on issues specific to women artists of their respective generations. Co-sponsored by the Painting departments at Brown University and RISD and the Foundation Studies Division at RISD. Fee: $5 Museum members; $10, non-members. Advance tickets can be purchased by contacting Visitor Services 401.709.8402.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Exhibition Opens - The Figure: Contemporary Works from the Collection
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
The human figure, one of the oldest motifs in the history of art, seems to be an inexhaustable source of inspiration for contemporary artists. The theme is presented here in a range of mediums and approaches, including painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, and needlework. Some artists represented in the exhibition use themselves as subject matter while others work with live models, photographs, or personal memory as a starting point. The selection of objects includes a number of recent acquisitions that are being exhibited at the museum for the first time, including works by Tom Friedman, Tracey Emin, Keith Coventry, Judy Glantzman, Ryan Trecartin/Lizzie Fitch, Allison Newsome, and Grayson Perry, among others.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Music Friday
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Listen to the Occidental Gypsy Jazz Quartet swing their gypsy sound to music by masters of the style, including Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. View the special exhibition Pat Steir: Drawing out of Line and enjoy music, refreshments, and a cash bar in the Main Gallery. Enter through the Chace Center. Admission is $10, non-members; $5, members. Attendees must be over 21.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
New Member Orientation
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
We invite members to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to enrich your Museum experience! Enjoy an afternoon reception followed by a brief tour of key objects with one of our renowned curators. This event is open to all Museum members. For more information, please contact Kristen Powich at 401 454-6321.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
A Grand Tour: Introduction to Art History II
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Explore the history of art, from the 17th century to the present day, in the galleries of The RISD Museum with specialist curators. Each of the four sessions will include a discussion of major artists and primary texts. Pre-registration required. Members, $180; non-members, $220. To register, contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Gallery Night
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
A free city-wide art evening. Third Thursday of the month. At the Museum, join a conversation with a curator and artist. Take gallery exploration into your own hands. Enjoy live music with wine at our cash bar. Exercise your artistic potential with optional coaching. Watch award-winning, independent documentaries and shorts focused on art and culture.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sitings 2010: Museum as Action
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Remarks at 7:30pm, gather in the Chace gallery, 3rd floor
Celebrate the winning entries by Lee Johnson and Benjamin Peterson (both MFA 2011) and Celeste Wilson (BFA 2010) for the annual Sitings competition juried by Spencer Finch (MFA 1989). Students were invited to respond to the Museum’s architectural idiosyncracies, collections, and the habits of its visitation.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Music in the Main Gallery: Steve DeConti, jazz guitarist
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Come and enjoy live music in the Main Gallery at the RISD Museum. Part of the Gallery Night festivities.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Art Shots: Reflections: Looking Back at Portraiture through the Ages
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
These engaging 30-minute gallery talks focus on individual works of art from the perspective of student artists and art historians. This discussion is led by Brown University student Megan Boomer and RISD’s Marlene Frontera (BFA 2010). Meet in the Chace Center lobby.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Uncertain Contracts: Nato Thompson + Patricia Phillips in Conversation
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
On the occasion of the exhibition Carey Young: Uncertain Contracts, chief curator of Creative Time Nato Thompson presents highlights of his curatorial work, followed by responses from and conversation with RISD's dean of graduate studies, Patricia Phillips. Co-sponsored by Graduate Studies, RISD.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Lecture: Commentaries in Clay, Staffordshire Figures, 1810–35
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
As a child living in England, Myrna Schkolne was first introduced to ceramic collectibles at the Portobello Road market, and a hobby became a lifelong passion. In 2006 she published People, Pastimes, Passions and Pleasures: Staffordshire Figures 1810–1835. This lecture is presented by the Pottery and Porcelain Club.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Free-for-all Saturday: Everyday Marvels
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Most of the objects that we use in our daily lives have been designed by someone. Many we take for granted. In this session, we explore revolutionary objects that have changed the way we interact with the world around us. Come be an inventor and designer!
Free-for-all Saturdays: Gallery explorations, hands-on art workshops, performances, and film screenings offer engaging ways for children and adults to discover art and design in RISD Museum’s collection and special exhibitions. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Held the last Saturday of the month, free all day.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Last Day to see Avish Khebrehzadeh: Backyard and other stories
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Avish Khebrehzadeh's (Iranian, b. 1969) hand-drawn animations and large-scale drawings are praised for their poetic sensibility and dreamy, timeless atmosphere achieved through the most economical means. Their usual motifs—human figures performing simple activities, iconic animals, and excerpts of nature against neutral backgrounds—are made of elemental shapes which are softly drawn with just a pencil, olive oil, and resin. The artist's inspiration stems from childhood memories, everyday life, literature, and art history. The contemplative and somewhat mysterious nature of Khebrehzadeh’s work allows for a variety of readings and invites the viewer's participation though his/ her own imagination. Along with the selection of Khebrehzadeh's single channel videos, the exhibition will include Backyard (2005-06), a large-scale video projection on a three panel drawing from the Museum collection.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Working from the Drawings of Pat Steir
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Drawing from an actual work of art can deepen one’s engagement with it. The exhibition Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line provides participants in this session a unique opportunity to discover how certain effects were achieved, then experiment with their own interpretations. Co-sponsored by RISD Continuing Education. Fee $100, Museum members receive a 10% discount; to register, go to www.risd.edu/conted.cfm.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A Grand Tour: Introduction to Art History II
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Explore the history of art, from the 17th century to the present day, in the galleries of The RISD Museum with specialist curators. Each of the four sessions will include a discussion of major artists and primary texts. Pre-registration required. Members, $180; non-members, $220. To register, contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Paintings and Pages: A Gallery Book Group
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Zola and Manet, Byron and Delacroix, Thackeray and Firth. Make connections between great novels and stunning paintings in this 3 session, monthly gallery book group. Dates: April 15, May 20, + June 17. To prepare for each monthly session, participants read an assigned text and then explore the intersections of novels and paintings in lively discussions led by Brown professor Rhoda Flaxman. We will discuss not only similarities and differences in content (what is being depicted), but also in form (how it is being expressed). Members, $120; Non-members, $200; Fee does not include books. Space is limited, pre-registration is required. Contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Last Day to see Carey Young: Uncertain Contracts
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Carey Young (British-American, b. 1970) explores current political, social and ethical issues by focusing on increased commercialization in both personal and public domains. Inspired by historical conceptual art movements and institutional critique strategies, this London-based artist investigates legal and corporate cultures, and appropriates their language in order to reveal their influence on our daily lives, as well as the art world. Commonly made through consultation and participation with various legal, sociological and corporate experts, Young's multidisciplinary works - videos, photography and installations - often depict the artist herself, and/or require the viewer's interaction. This exhibition features a selection of the artist's videos and works in other media, as well as her vinyl wall installation Declared Void (2005), recently acquired by the Museum.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Last Day to see Queen of the Insects: The Art of the Butterfly
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Always fashionable, the butterfly motif has adorned a wide variety of objects, from porcelain and prints to jewelry and textiles. Objects from the Museum's costume and textiles collections- including a luminous 19th-century Chinese hand-painted summer robe, a ca. 1905 embroidered silk gown from the famed Japanese retailer Lida Takashimaya, and a gossamer 1970s printed chiffon dress designed by Hanae Mori- serve to illustrate the universal impulse to capture the fleeting art of the butterfly. Juxtaposed with its usage in Western design, the traditional symbolism of the butterfly in Asian art will be explored and decoded as a design inspiration and as a material in itself.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
A Grand Tour: Introduction to Art History II
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Explore the history of art, from the 17th century to the present day, in the galleries of The RISD Museum with specialist curators. Each of the four sessions will include a discussion of major artists and primary texts. Pre-registration required. Members, $180; non-members, $220. To register, contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Paintings and Pages: A Gallery Book Group
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Zola and Manet, Byron and Delacroix, Thackeray and Firth. Make connections between great novels and stunning paintings in this gallery book group. To prepare for each monthly session, participants read an assigned text and then explore the intersections of novels and paintings in lively discussions led by Brown professor Rhoda Flaxman. We will discuss not only similarities and differences in content (what is being depicted), but also in form (how it is being expressed).
Members, $120; Non-members, $200; Fee does not include books. Space is limited, pre-registration is required. Contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Last Day to see Rapid Gestures: Waterfalls in British Romantic Art
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Rapid Gestures: Waterfalls in British Romantic Art showcases the variety of materials, colors, lines and brushstrokes artists used to portray these boisterous features of the natural world. Drawn from the Museum's rich collection of 18th-and 19th- century British watercolors and sketches, this exhibition offers the rare opportunity to compare works by J.M.W. Turner, including his magnificent Dazio Grande (1843), with depictions by contemporaries such as John Ruskin, John Constable, Edward Lear, and John Robert Cozens.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Paintings and Pages: A Gallery Book Group
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Zola and Manet, Byron and Delacroix, Thackeray and Firth. Make connections between great novels and stunning paintings in this gallery book group. To prepare for each monthly session, participants read an assigned text and then explore the intersections of novels and paintings in lively discussions led by Brown professor Rhoda Flaxman. We will discuss not only similarities and differences in content (what is being depicted), but also in form (how it is being expressed). Members, $120; Non-members, $200; Fee does not include books. Space is limited, pre-registration is required. Contact Deb Clemons at 401 454-6530 or dclemons@risd.edu.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Last Day to See Mountains and Rivers: Scenic Views of Japan
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Beginning in the early 19th century, landscape evolved into a popular theme in Japanese printmaking. This subject matter, drawn from older painting traditions, was transferred to the medium of woodblock printing, where richer, more innovative thematic content appeared. This exhibition will highlight depictions of famous places (meisho), including selections from the Museum's complete set of Hiroshige's Yukaidy (Eastern Sea Route) prints and Hokusai's series of the "Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji."
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