| Home | About the Museum | Exhibitions | Programs | Membership | Press Room | ||
|
Lyman
Allyn PRESS ROOM
Current News
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
A Work in Progress:
Fifty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition, A Work in Progress: Fifty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, opening to the public on March 15 and on view through August 17, 2008.
Contemporary art poses such questions as - where does the past stop and the present begin? Where does the local artist meet with and become a colleague of internationally recognized artists? These are questions that will be posed and discussed at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s galleries this spring. The museum is hosting an exhibition of work drawn from its rarely seen collection of contemporary art, all of which has been acquired since 1958, both through purchase and donation. Adjunct Professor of Art History at Connecticut College Janis Mink curates this exhibition with the assistance of the students in her seminar class “Issues in Contemporary Art.” Their goal is to offer an elegant and surprising presentation that will showcase the museum’s holdings. A Work in Progress: Fifty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum will exhibit photographs, paintings and works on paper from the mid-twentieth century until today, with an emphasis on the past twenty years. An impressive list of artists will be on view including Richard Avedon, Ellen Carey, Nan Goldin, Alex Katz, Barbara Kruger, Annie Leibovitz, Sally Mann, Sol LeWitt, Sam Messer, Elizabeth Peyton, Andres Serrano, and William Wegman, among others.
Coordinating programming for A Work in Progress: Fifty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum will include the following:
Sundays, March 30 and April 27, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Who Gets to Call It Art?
Accompanying the exhibit 50 Years of Collecting Contemporary Art, the Museum is proud to screen this acclaimed documentary film. In the 1960’s, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's first curator of contemporary art, Henry Geldzahler, bore witness to an exciting era in art and museum history that saw the rise of Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and the iconic Andy Warhol. This vibrant documentary combines Geldzahler's recollections of his experiences with rare footage and interviews with working artists of the period, including David Hockney, James Rosenquist and Frank Stella. Free with admission.
Sunday, April 20, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Gallery Talk for A Work in Progress: Fifty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art. Join Janis Mink, guest curator for this exhibition, as she takes visitors through the galleries and describes the works and the process of artwork selection for the exhibition. The gallery talk is followed by a wine and cheese reception at 3:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public.
Sunday, May 4, 2008, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Free First Sunday
Contemporary Art: Bright Colors, Big Paper
Design abstract patterns or create an Expressionist self-portrait. Art projects, tasty treats, an exhibition tour, a scavenger hunt, a movie & more! Free and fun for all.
There will also be gallery talks, artists’ conversations and docent-led tours. The schedule will be posted on the museum website. Visit us on-line at www.lymanallyn.org.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee; Pfizer, and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
 |
 |
 |
Ellen Carey Blinks Color photogram 2005 20 x 16 inches |
Sam Messer Mr. Coincidence 1999 Oil on canvas |
Cleve Gray (American, 1918-2004) Zen Garden Acrylic on canvas |
February 11, 2008 For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
Dr. Nancy Stula, Deputy Director, Named Interim Director
at Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Photo courtesy Joe Standart
Dr. Nancy Stula, Deputy Director and Curator of the museum, has been an active and vital member of the museum staff since her arrival in 2003. Through programming and exhibitions, she has continually demonstrated a strong commitment to making the museum’s offerings relevant to the greater New London community. Her most recent exhibition, devoted to the Hudson River School transcendentalist Christopher Pearse Cranch, has been extraordinarily well received in the local and national press. Dr. Stula holds a PhD in American art history from Columbia University. She previously worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and taught at the University of Hartford. She is on the Board of Trustees of the Hartford Art School.
When the Lyman Allyn Art Museum re-emerged as an independent community museum in 2004, after eight years of stewardship by Connecticut College, Ronald Crusan was recruited to rebuild the staff, restructure the museum’s administrative and financial organization and to assist in developing a strong
and functioning Board. During his tenure, he oversaw the implementation and completion of a $1 million Bond Project from the State of Connecticut that
helped update the physical plant, redesign collection storage and beautify the museum grounds.
Ronald Crusan was also very active in strengthening the museum’s collections, acquiring major additions of art, including a fine Gilbert Stuart portrait, Henry Ward Ranger’s 1911 View of New London from the Groton Shipyards, a
number of important contemporary photography folios, works by recognized contemporary artists and a promised gift of over 150 works of modern
American art.
“Ron Crusan joined the museum at a critical time when the institution returned to its former status as a community museum. During his tenure, Crusan brought a special expertise to redirecting the museum’s operations and management. He leaves the Lyman Allyn on a very firm operational foundation for its future growth and development,” said Dr. Sandy Lieber, President of the Board of Trustees.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum was established in 1926 by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her father, Lyman Allyn, as a place for local citizens to learn about art and culture. Housed in a handsome Neo-Classical building designed by Charles A. Platt, the permanent collection includes over 10,000 paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, furniture and decorative arts, with an emphasis on American art from the 18th through 20th centuries. The museum has been a center for arts education for children and adults for the past half century and is currently working with the New London Public Schools on a curriculum-based after-school program for elementary school students.
February 1, 2008 For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
Lyman Allyn Art Museum opens new exhibition
Just When You Think Art is Dead, Here Comes JED
JED is a three person collaborative who use the first initial of their birth names to form
a fictitious contemporary lens-based, conceptual photographic artist in the early 21st century. JED represents their collective alter egos, whose identity is a secret.
Borrowing from the Dada and Surrealist’s art movements, which includes stream-of-consciousness to make art and found objects not traditionally used for art making, championed by Marcel Duchamp for example, JED focuses their attention on a selection of photographic images, such as test strips and “bad” prints that were discarded and thrown out by their original picture makers (the unidentified “real” artists).
These found/abandoned images are then re-contextualized and elevated to “high” art with a sense of humor that underscores the absurd, the forgotten, and now serves as documents of the human attempt to make art despite constant failure, what is commonly known as the “artist’s struggle”. This unique and provocative exhibition is guaranteed to stimulate conversation and controversy.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee; Pfizer, and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
December 14, 2007 For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
Lyman Allyn Art Museum opens new exhibition
Tradition et Innovation
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition Tradition et Innovation: French Art from the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, opening on January 19 and on view throughout 2008.
Presenting French art from the permanent collection, Tradition et Innovation features paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Works on view include J.A.D. Ingres's important pencil study for the portrait of Mme. Moitessier Standing (c.1851), Pierre Auguste Renoir's bronze Maternite' (1916) and Auguste Rodin's sculpture Study of a Crouching Woman. For this exhibition, the museum will also mount 17th century drawings by Nicholas Poussin, Hyacinthe Rigaud and Francois Boucher as well as paintings by Pierre Mignard, Gustave Courbet and Honoré Daumier. Tradition et Innovation offers a rare opportunity to see world-class French art in New London.
Portrait of a Lady
n/d
Oil on canvas
Shepherd and Sheep
(n/d)
Watercolor and gouache on paper
Coordinating programming includes the following:
The film A Day in the Country: Impressionism and the French Landscape will be screened in
the Museum's auditorium on selected Saturday and Sunday afternoons throughout the year.
The schedule will be posted on the museum website.
A newly developed program - Café and Conversation – will take place in the museum café and offers an opportunity for viewers to interact with the curator and museum staff to discuss various aspects of the exhibition, as well as broader art historical concepts. Call the museum at 860-443-2545 for a schedule of dates for Café and Conversation.
Tours of the exhibition will be available in French, geared to middle school and high school groups. Call Jane Seney, Education Director, for more information or to schedule tours:
860-443-2545, x 110.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee; Pfizer, and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
November 5, 2007
Les Santons de Provence opens at
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces the opening of the family favorite seasonal exhibition
Les Santons de Provence on November 23, 2007, on view through January 20, 2008. Back by popular demand, more than 200 santons, or “little saints” in French, will be on display for the holiday season. The exhibition includes many examples on loan from the personal collection of Edith “Fuzzy” Gipstein as well as santons from the museum’s permanent collection. Mrs. Gipstein is the former Director of Exhibitions at the museum and has organized this show.
Santons are hand-painted clay figurines that populate a miniature replica of a 19th-century village in southern France. Also included is the traditional crèche. Santons are at the center of an important two hundred-year-old tradition that is still maintained today in the area of Provence. Complementing the exhibition are seasonal paintings and sculptures from the museum’s permanent collection.
Fuzzy Gipstein will share her knowledge about Santons and their place in French culture during two slide lectures on Thursday, December 13 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, January 13 at 1:30 pm. Lecture fees are $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Reservations suggested, please call 860-443-2545 x 112.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum is a community-based museum located in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1932 by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her father, Lyman Allyn, the Museum serves the people of Southeastern Connecticut and is free to the residents of New London. The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a non-profit organization with 501(c) 3 status.
Housed in a handsome Neo-Classical building designed by Charles A. Platt, the permanent collection includes over 10,000 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, furniture and decorative arts, with an emphasis on American art from the 18th through 20th centuries.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces major fall 2007 Exhibition
At Home and Abroad
The Transcendental Landscapes of Christopher Pearse Cranch
Despite a fifty-year career as a landscape painter, Christopher Cranch’s paintings are little known. Instead, he is best known for his poetry, his ties to the New England Transcendentalists, and, above all, his playful caricature of Ralph Waldo Emerson as an enormous “transparent” eyeball, perched atop a minuscule body in top hat and tails, optic nerve tied in a pony tail. From his first reading of Emerson’s Nature essay (1836), Cranch was inspired to explore Transcendental concepts through visual means; although ultimately it was painting, not caricature, that provided the ideal vehicle for him. Transcribing nature onto canvas became an act of devotion. Like Thoreau writing of the daily trials of life on Walden Pond, Cranch also attempted, in his landscapes, to express the correspondence between nature and spiritual concepts. His brand of Transcendentalism bypasses the quiet, “transparent” aspect to celebrate a nature that is filled with the flux and continual shifting that Emerson and Thoreau also celebrated in their writings. C. P. Cranch was intimate with some of the most innovative thinkers in America and counted among his friends Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George William Curtis, and James Russell Lowell. This study considers Cranch not only as a Hudson River School artist, but also as a participant in the history of ideas, a multi-faceted individual who merged intellectual and artistic life.
The exhibition is accompanied by a 208-page exhibition catalogue; At Home and Abroad: The Transcendental Landscapes of Christopher Pearse Cranch (1813 – 1892). The Foreword is written by Barbara Novak, Professor Emerita at Columbia University, one of the most influential theorists on American art. Nancy Stula, Curator and Deputy Director of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, and David M. Robinson, Distinguished Professor of American Literature at Oregon State University authored the catalogue essays.
At Home and Abroad: The Transcendental Landscapes of Christopher Pearse Cranch. Is part of the ongoing celebration during 2007 marking the museum’s 75th anniversary. Thanks to the generosity of benefactor Harriet Upson Allyn, Lyman Allyn Art Museum opened in 1932 as a place for local citizens to learn about art and culture. The museum has always made part of its mission to respond and to appeal to the regional community.
In that spirit, Lyman Allyn Art Museum has planned an exciting schedule of programs to accompany the exhibition. The programs are designed to appeal to and to engage people of all ages and to make the humanities themes of the exhibition easily accessible.
Public Events
October 12, 2007, 6-8 pm
Member Preview, Free for members, $5 for non-members.
October 13, 2007, 1 pm
Transcendental Nature Walk with Glenn Dreyer, Director, Conn. College Arboretum.
Walk starts at the Museum, free with Museum admission.
Lectures:
October 25, 2007, 6 pm
Nancy Stula, Curator & Deputy Director, Lyman Allyn Art Museum
“Before the silent smile of Nature’s God”: C.P. Cranch’s Transcendental Paintings”
December 1, 2007, 6 pm
James Cook, Assoc. Professor of History, University of Michigan
“P.T. Barnum's American Museum: The Nation's First Institution of Mass Culture”
January 24, 2008, 6 pm
David Robinson, Distinguished Professor of American Literature,
Oregon State University
“Cranch and New England Transcendentalism”
February 9, 2008, 6 pm
Linda Ferber, Vice President & Museum Director, New-York Historical Society
"’An enthusiastic lover of art’: Christopher Cranch, Asher B. Durand, and mid-19th-century American Landscape Painting”
February 24, 2008, 2 pm
Suzanne Smeaton, Gallery Director, Eli Wilner & Company
“The Art of the Edge: 19th-Century American Frames.”
**Reception at 3:00 pm.
All lectures are preceded with a wine and cheese reception at 5:00 pm. **
Reservations suggested. Call 860.443.2545 x112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Musical Performances
November 17, 2007, 6 pm
Neely Bruce performs Ralph Waldo Emerson: Ives and the Musical Transcendental
February 16, 2008, 6 pm
Neely Bruce performs Henry David Thoreau: Ives and the Musical Transcendental
Performances held in the Museum’s Library, preceded by a reception at 5:00 pm. Reservations required, call 860.443.2545 x112.
$15 for members and $22 for non-members.
Children’s Programs
October 13, 2007, 2 pm
Children’s Nature Scavenger Hunt
Free with Museum admission.
October 20, 2007 1-3 pm
Caricatures Workshop
Free for Members, $2 for non-members.
November 3, 2007 1-3 pm
Caricatures Workshop
Free for Members, $2 for non-members.
November 4, 2007, 1-4 pm
CT Storytellers’ Telebration
February 3, 2008, 1-4 pm
First Sunday! Free Family Day. Make landscape dioramas.
Films
October 13, 2007 and February 9, 2008, 3:30 pm
“The New England Transcendentalists”
November 25, 2007 and January 26, 2008, 1:30 p
“Hudson River School and Its Painters”
October 28, 2007, 1:30 pm
“Henry David Thoreau: Speaking for Nature”
All films are free with Museum admission.
For more information, or to receive images and a checklist of the artworks in
At Home and Abroad: The Transcendental Landscapes of Christopher Pearse Cranch please contact Susan Hendricks, at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
At Home and Abroad: The Transcendental Landscapes of Christopher Pearse Cranch has been made possible by generous grants from the Connecticut Humanities Council and the Henry Luce Foundation.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum exhibitions are supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund,
Bank of America, Trustee, and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
Eli Wilner & Company Period Frames, New York has provided numerous frames.
Connecticut Humanities Council (CHC) is a statewide non-profit institution located in Middletown, Connecticut that focuses its work on two time-honored traditions in the humanities—reflective reading of literature and exploration of history. CHC reading programs like Motheread/Fatheread and Book Voyagers help parents and children strengthen family bonds by reading together while encouraging children to become lifelong, avid readers on their own. CHC heritage programs, often conducted in partnership with state and regional cultural organizations, fund exhibits, walking tours, cultural festivals, and community humanities projects that explore Connecticut’s diverse local heritage, as well as American and world history. This year, the CHC will produce or fund over $2,000,000 in cultural programming that enriches the lives of state residents and visitors statewide. For more information on the Connecticut Humanities Council and its programs, please visit www.ctculture.org or call 860.685-2260.
The Henry Luce Foundation was established in 1936 by the late Henry R. Luce, co-founder and editor in chief of Time Inc. The Luce Foundation supports projects in American art, higher education, Asian affairs, theology, women in science and engineering, and public policy and the environment. Through the Program in American Art, begun in 1982, the Foundation has distributed over $110 million to some 250 museums, universities, and service organizations in 47 states and the District of Columbia. For more information on the Henry Luce Foundation and its programs, please visit www.hluce.org.
Barbara Roux: Evidence from Nature
opens at Lyman Allyn Art Museum
sand, plant material, plastic,
photo, pen, paper
10” x 12” x 1”
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition, Barbara Roux: Evidence from Nature, opening on Friday, October 12, 2007 and on view through February 25, 2008.
Barbara Roux is an environmentalist, a conservationist and an artist. The three converge when she wanders the woods and fields in search of tiny bits of nature that will convey her important message. She creates “bags” which tell a story about a location or an environmental issue. These “evidence bags” may contain tree bark and dirt or plant materials from a dying forest or water from a neglected pond. Whatever the contents, the resulting artform raises the awareness of the viewer about that piece of Nature.
Roux comments about her work:
“As an artist dealing with issues of ecology, I am a hybrid. My installation projects are influenced by my conservation projects to protect habitats and record incidents in natural history. My conservation efforts stem from my respect and fascination for the natural world.
It is my belief that the environment of the forest, meadow, seashore and wetland are a powerful and little appreciated resource to understanding our human world. Like all structured communities, the wilderness is in a search for survival. It is my hope, that through my work, people may become interested in the mysteries that are inherent in wild places. From interest, a desire to protect
may follow.”
This unique exhibition is visually intriguing as well as inspirational and is the perfect complement to the Museum’s major fall exhibition At Home and Abroad:
The Transcendental Landscapes of Christopher Pearse Cranch, which deals with the glory of Nature as interpreted by the artist.
Barbara Roux: Evidence from Nature is part of the ongoing celebration during 2007 that marks the museum’s 75th anniversary. Thanks to the generosity of benefactor Harriet Upson Allyn, Lyman Allyn Art Museum opened in 1932 as a place for local citizens to learn about art and culture. The museum has always made part of its mission to respond and to appeal to the regional community. In that spirit, Lyman Allyn presents the following events coordinating with this exhibition:
Saturday, October 13 from 1:00 pm:
Transcendental Nature Walk with Glenn Dreyer, Director, Conn. College Arboretum. Walk starts at the Museum, free with Museum admission.
Children’s Nature Scavenger Hunt at 2 pm
Free with Museum admission.
Saturdays at 1:00 pm on October 27 and December 1
Earthworms, Doodlebugs, and Dirt
What is a Doodlebug? Students will learn and sing participatory songs about creatures that wiggle, crawl, creep, and fly in the environment they inhabit! Contemporary Folk Music with Mike Kachuba - perfect for children ages 2-6. Free for Members and $3 for non-members.
Funded in part by Pfizer and with the support of the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
For more information about Barbara Roux: Evidence from Nature, or to receive images and a checklist of the artworks, please contact Susan Hendricks, at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
Guido Garaycochea
Painted Boxes - Echoes of the Past
Cajas Pintadas - Ecos del pasado
opens at Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition, Guido Garaycochea: Painted Boxes - Echoes of the Past, Cajas Pintadas - Ecos del pasado, opening on Friday, July 27, 2007 and on view through November 4, 2007.
Garaycochea, a Peruvian painter now working in New York and Connecticut, creates a compelling installation that deals with the political turmoil and personal loss that has plagued his native country for many years. The exhibition includes a video component and encourages audience interaction with the boxes, or “cajas” in his native Spanish.
Guido Garaycochea is best known as a painter. His training and background are evident as one views these boxes that are painted both exterior and interior with soft, beautifully muted pastels. The “cajas” begin as small, jewel-like paintings that open to become dimensional sculpture. The delicate coloration covering the box surfaces contradicts the intellectual content. Each box contains letters, mementos and personal reflections on acquaintances of the artist, those who may have been “disappeared.” Viewers may open some of the boxes, read the materials and reflect on the sad but virtual contents. As the various boxes are viewed and then opened, one finds miniature sculptural additions that seem to reference aspects of residence: clothes on lines hung high over the boxes/abodes, ladders to rudimentary sleeping areas, and what could be trees. Upon closer inspection, the viewer questions whether the scene is a home or perhaps
a cell.
Garaycochea comments about his work: “These wooden boxes to me are the result of an intimate reflection, of thoughts, of life. These wooden boxes are the result of my travels through countries I feel as home, as today America is home to me. These wooden boxes represent an ambitious on-going project and my desire to live in peace. These wooden boxes are inspired by what I saw, heard and read about what happens when intolerance abounds.” May visitors also be inspired by Garaycochea’s “Cajas” project.
Guido Garaycochea: Painted Boxes - Echoes of the Past, Cajas Pintadas - Ecos del pasado is part of the ongoing celebration during 2007 that marks the museum’s 75th anniversary. Thanks to the generosity of benefactor Harriet Upson Allyn, Lyman Allyn Art Museum opened in 1932 as a place for local citizens to learn about art and culture. The museum has always made part of its mission to respond and to appeal to the regional community. In that spirit, Lyman Allyn presents the following event coordinating with this exhibition:
Sunday, August 5, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm: First Sunday!
Families, art lovers and kids of all ages are invited to join in the fun.
Free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Latin Network for the Visual Arts and the Griffis Art Center
Painters’ Mark Lecture Series at 2:00 pm
Guido Garaycochea will speak about his work in the current exhibition.
Special Art Activity: Box It Up!
Construct and decorate your own boxes, inspired by the work of Guido Garaycochea! Learn how to make a print and decorate paper with your designs and then explore the art of origami box making. Take you project home with you.
Partial funding for these programs is generously provided by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Pfizer Inc., the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut.
For more information about Guido Garaycochea: Painted Boxes – Echoes of the Past, Cajas Pintadas - Ecos del pasado, or to receive images and a checklist of the artworks, please contact Susan Hendricks, at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
Larry Dinkin: Painting to Silkscreen, an Interpretive Process
& The New York School: Works from a Private Collection
open at Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces two new exhibitions, Larry Dinkin: Painting to Silkscreen, an Interpretive Process and The New York School: Works from a Private Collection, both opening on Friday, July 13, 2007 and on view through September 23, 2007.
Larry Dinkin: Painting to Silkscreen, an Interpretive Process
Landscape of Structure from a Dream
Oil on linen ¦ 1992
36¼ x 40”
As a student, Dinkin had studied figurative painting. In his early thirties, he began to explore landscape and in 1992, with the painting Landscape of Structure from a Dream, he created an image that used a landscape format but was constructed with abstract elements. From this point forward Dinkin’s oeuvre would be non-objective realism. His paintings would have elements of realism -- space, light and color -- but would no longer be derivative. His paintings form the basis for his silkscreens for which an elaborate process is employed, using over 90 separate screens and transparent oil-based inks.
Larry Dinkin: Painting to Silkscreen, an Interpretive Process takes the viewer on a visual journey between the two media. The vividly bold paintings and prints seem familiar and yet distant; perhaps a memory from a dream when one is jarred awake. Within the brilliant colors and dense brushstrokes, one can almost see a structure, a landform, something recognizable, but not then quite.
Dinkin says of his work, “The images depict a personal universe—distilled landscapes bound only by their own reality. They strive for the flickering ambiguity of paint to dreamy vision, held fast within a structure that is both descriptive and dimensional.”
Turandot
Silkscreen ¦ Edition of 120 ¦ 2005
42” x 45½"
Dinkin’s paintings and works on paper owe a debt to the groundwork laid by the abstract artists of the “New York School.”
The New York School: Works from a Private Collection
Abstract Expressionist Robert Motherwell coined the term “New York School” in 1949. He intended the term to describe the non-representational works created by his fellow artists who were working in New York City at the time and experimenting with a new style that featured abstracted forms and expressionistic paint application.
The works on viewrange in date from 1936 to contemporary works created in the last five years. All relate to, or are derived from, the abstraction of the 1950’s. The earliest work in the show predates Abstract Expressionism by decades, other works represent the wide variety of responses to Abstract Expressionism by mid-century artists, while another group of works date from the 1960’s and 1970’s and respond to the society and culture surrounding the events of those decades—feminism, civil rights, foreign war movements.
The artists represented in The New York School: Works from a Private Collection were part of a circle that interacted. The relationships between these artists and the resulting inspiration will be evident to viewers: Jasper Johns inspired Frank Stella; Helen Frankenthaler was married to Robert Motherwell and had studied with Hans Hoffman. These works continue to question the boundaries and parameters of art.
Larry Dinkin: Painting to Silkscreen, an Interpretive Process and The New York School: Works from a Private Collection are part of the ongoing celebration during 2007 marking the museum’s 75th anniversary. Thanks to the generosity of benefactor Harriet Upson Allyn, Lyman Allyn Art Museum opened in 1932 as a place for local citizens to learn about art and culture. The museum has always made part of its mission to respond and to appeal to the regional community.
In that spirit, Lyman Allyn presents the following events coordinating with these exhibitions.
How’d They Do That? The Artist’s Process: Printmaking
Hands-on workshops that explore the artistic process
Saturday, July 21, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Saturday, August 18, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Free for Museum Family Members
$2 for non-members
Pre-registration required.
Please call 860-443-2545 x 110 to register.
Film: Jasper Johns
Saturday, August 11 at 1:00 pm
Free with museum admission
Lecture: Modernism
Barbara Zabel, Professor of Art History at Connecticut College
Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.
Reception immediately following the lecture
$5 Members and $10 Non-members.
Reservations suggested, please call 860-443-2545 x 112.
Film: David Hockney
Saturday, August 25 at 1:00 pm
Free with museum admission
Partial funding for these programs is generously provided by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Pfizer Inc., the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut.
For more information about Larry Dinkin: Painting to Silkscreen, an Interpretive Process and The New York School: Works from a Private Collection, or to receive images and a checklist of the artworks, please contact Susan Hendricks, at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum was established in 1926 by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her father, Lyman Allyn, as a place for local citizens to learn about art and culture. Housed in a handsome Neo-Classical building designed by Charles A. Platt, the permanent collection includes over 10,000 paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, furniture and decorative arts, with an emphasis on American art from the 18th through 20th centuries. The museum is located at 625 Williams Street, New London, Connecticut, 06320. Take exit 83 off of I-95 and follow brown cultural heritage signage. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am-5:00 pm and Sunday 1:00 –5:00 pm. Closed Mondays and major holidays.
For more information, please call 860.443.2545 or visit us on the web at http://lymanallyn.org.
March 12, 2007 For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks, Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
For general information, please email us at info@lymanallyn.org