FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2018
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Press Contact: Rebecca Marsie, Communications Associate
860.443.2545 x2112 / [email protected]
THE LYMAN ALLYN ART MUSEUM PRESENTS THE CORAL REEF PROJECT
New London – The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is proud to announce the opening of The Coral Reef Project, on view from February 10 through April 15, 2018.
The Coral Reef Project, the latest exhibition in Lyman Allyn’s Near :: New contemporary series, is a mixed media exhibit with a unique sculptural installation that demonstrates the fragility of coral and its ecosystem. This exhibition, created by local artist Tekla Zweir, Chair of the Art Department at The Williams School in New London, CT, includes years of research into various species of coral.
Featured in Glassenberg Gallery will be studies of coral in oil on canvas, 50 individual coral sculptures arranged to demonstrate a living coral reef, and plaster relief sculptures to represent bleached coral. The juxtaposition of the different sculptures will show the delicateness and fragility of the reef. In addition, experimental encaustic paintings that utilize Tekla’s underwater photographs to capture aerial views of coral reefs will be included. To add to the educational component of the exhibition, didactic material with coral facts, video of coral by the Ocean Exploration Trust, coloring book pages created by Tekla’s students for visitors to color and display, and an aquarium with living coral from the Credabel Coral Lab will be showcased in the gallery.
“While most of our exhibitions are focused on aesthetics it is particularly satisfying when the Lyman Allyn can host an exhibition that combines both artistic and scientific modes of inquiry operating in parallel to a mutually beneficial degree,” said Sam Quigley, Director of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum. Through Tekla’s dedicated research, The Coral Reef Project hopes to illustrate the diversity of coral species, and promote environmental stewardship. The exhibition also aims to educate the public about coral and its habitat, show the connection of science to art, explain the importance of research in the artistic process, utilize art for environmental awareness and inspire students to create art that fosters critical thinking.
Tekla Zweir has studied coral at the Mystic Aquarium, the Boston Museum of Science, and the Key West Aquarium, and has also visited three coral reefs at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida. Her research there included taking photographs, making notes, sketching and learning about different coral species.
The opening reception will be on Friday, February 9 from 5:00 – 7:00pm. Museum members are free and non-members are $10. Please RSVP to 860.443.2545 ext. 2129.
Check the museum website at www.lymanallyn.org and the Museum’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram page for updates and additional programming.
Tours of the exhibition are available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education, Caitlin Healy at 860.443.2545 ext. 2110 or e-mail [email protected]
For more information or to request images, please contact Rebecca Marsie at 860.443.2545, ext. 2112 or at [email protected].
About the Artist
Tekla Zweir earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture in 1999 from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and a Master of Arts in Art Education in 2013 from Boston University. She is an artist and an educator who has taught studio art at The Williams School for sixteen years. She lives in Quaker Hill with her musician husband, Ben Kane, their children Cassius and Scarlet, and their two cats and a dog.
About the Lyman Allyn Art Museum
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum welcomes visitors from New London, southeastern Connecticut and all over the world. Established in 1926 by a gift from Harriet Allyn in memory of her seafaring father, the Museum opened the doors of its beautiful neo-classical building surrounded by 12 acres of green space in 1932. Today it presents a number of changing exhibitions each year and houses a fascinating collection of over 17,000 objects from ancient times to the present; artworks from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, with particularly strong collections of American paintings, decorative arts and Victorian toys and doll houses.
The museum is located at 625 Williams Street, New London, Connecticut, exit 83 off I-95. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sundays 1:00 – 5:00 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. For more information call 860.443.2545, ext. 2129 or visit us on Facebook or the web at: www.lymanallyn.org.