Located in historic Union Station at the foot of Main Street in downtown Brattleboro, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center has cultivated a stellar reputation over the years for engaging and thoughtful exhibitions and quality programming. Five exhibitions opened on October 13th. Roger Sandes’ “Constellations”, which opened on September 1 continues to January 8, 2018. Weighted Tears, Mary Admasian’s installation on the outside of the BMAC building, remains up until April 17, 2018.
Touchstones, Totems, Talismans:
Animals in Contemporary Art
October 13, 2017-February 11, 2018
The inspiration for this exhibition dates back to the 2004 BMAC exhibit “Andy Warhol: The Jon Gould Collection.” According to BMAC Chief Curator Mara Williams, the most commented-on works in that show were the large prints from Warhol’s 1983 “Endangered Species” portfolio. “Touchstones…” includes three prints from that Warhol portfolio–Giant Panda, Siberian Tiger, and Bald Eagle (image)–alongside paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture by Walton Ford, Bharti Kher, Colleen Kiely, Stephen Petegorsky, Shelley Reed, Jane Rosen, Michal Rovner, and Rick Shaefer. Mara Williams and several of the exhibiting artists will lead a gallery tour on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 1PM.
Shimmering Mirage: Anila Quayyum Agha
October 13, 2017-March 10, 2018
Shimmering Mirage consists of a hollow steel cube hanging in the center of the gallery, with a 600-watt light bulb inside. The sides of the cube are incised with intricate patterns inspired by Islamic architecture. When the bulb is turned on, light passes through the sides of the cube casting crisp shadows on the walls, floor, ceiling, and all who are in the gallery. “The installation magnifies the sculpture’s floral and geometric motifs to inhabit a large space,” said Agha, “covering and beautifying all within it, and suggesting the underlying orderliness of the cosmos revealed through the purity and symmetry of geometric design.”
The Scarf: Joan O’Beirne
October 13, 2017-February 11, 2018
The Scarf, a new work funded in part by a grant from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Vermont Arts Endowment Fund, comprises photographs, video, and a giant scarf fashioned out of bright orange industrial extension cords. Draped over a ladder and extending onto the gallery floor, the eponymous scarf is anything but warm and comforting. On the gallery walls behind it are a video depicting hands knitting the curious object and a large photograph of a tattered extension cord, printed on one-foot-square panels of brushed and burnished aluminum.
O’Beirne dedicated The Scarf to the memory of her brother, who took his life in June 2000. “The three works in this installation–sculpture, video, and photograph–reflect the improbable effort of extracting sense from experience,” she said. “All of them include aspects of tension, trauma, and the physical manifestation of transformation.” O’Beirne gives a free artist talk on Thursday, January 11, 2018 at 7PM.
“In-Sight Exposed”
October 13, 2017-January 8, 2018
“In-Sight Exposed,” on view in the museum’s South Gallery, marks the 25th anniversary of Brattleboro’s In-Sight Photography Project. Curator Rachel Portesi selected the photographs in the exhibit from among thousands of images created over the years by In-Sight students. The exhibit illustrates the variety of media taught and the range of programs offered by In-Sight, including analog and digital prints; video from the Exposures Cross-Cultural Program in South Dakota; a montage of project prints; photographs of students at work; and a booklet of interviews with photographers. Portesi and In-Sight co-founder John Willis give a free talk about the exhibit and the history of In-Sight Photography Project on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 7PM.
“Your Space: Flights of Fancy”
October 13, 2017-February 11, 2018
In the museum’s Ticket Gallery, BMAC Education Curator Linda Whelihan assembled images of iconic artworks inspired by birds, from Leonardo’s sketches of flying machines to Ai Weiwei’s design for the Olympic stadium in Beijing. “Your Space: Flights of Fancy” invites visitors of all ages to create their own sculptures and drawings inspired by those masterworks. For those requiring more animated source material, Michael Clough of the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum will bring live falcons, owls, and hawks to BMAC for a special presentation on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 11AM.
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INFORMATION
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
10 Vernon Street
Brattleboro 05301
(802) 257-0124
Hours:
Daily (except Tuesday), 11AM-5PM
Open until 8:30PM for the First Friday Gallery Walk