For Immediate Release:  March 21, 2017
Susan Strano, Marketing Director
802-447-1571 ext. 204
sstrano@benningtonmuseum.org

Images:
Pat Adams (b.1928)
Voicing, 1979
Acrylic, charcoal and grit on paper,
23 ¾ x 17 ¾ inches
Courtesy of the Artist

Stanley Rosen (b. 1926)
Untitled, 1962, RC 42
Unglazed stoneware, 16 × 8 × 8 inches
Courtesy of the Artist

George Aiken Wildflower Trail
at Bennington Museum

Artist Pat Adams Joins Us for Community Day – Admission FREE!

On Saturday, April 8 from 10 am to 5 pm admission to the Bennington Museum is free for all visitors.  Join us for a day of Celebrating ART as you enjoy Gatherum of Quiddities: Paintings by Pat Adams; Holding the Line: Ceramic Sculpture by Stanley Rosen; Buy Local: Images from the Weichert-Isselhardt Collection, plus activities both inside the Museum and out on the George Aiken Wildflower Trail.  So much to do for the whole family.

 

Visit with Artist Pat Adams

At 3:00 p.m. Pat Adams greets visitors to her exhibition Gatherum of Quiddities: Paintings by Pat Adams in the Parmelee and Limric Galleries. Modernist abstract painter Pat Adams states the following about her art, “For sixty years I have approached painting with an empiricist’s concern for the nature of visual form and the intimist’s sensibility that addresses the layering complexity of being.  With abstract paintings characterized by seductive colors and richly encrusted surfaces, I seek to bring from my “gatherum of quiddities” – that stew of unnamed qualities – a visual situation that bestirs contemplation.”  A fully illustrated catalogue with essays will be available from the Museum Store in mid-May.

 

 

 

Enjoy Sculpture by Ceramic Artist
Stanley Rosen

Holding the Line: Ceramic Sculpture by Stanley Rosen features works by one of the most dynamic artists working in the medium of ceramics from the late 1950s to today.  By the late 1950s, Stanley Rosen was in the vanguard of American ceramics. He was one of a small cohort—among them Peter Voulkos, John Mason, and Ken Price— who revolutionized ceramics, making of it an inventive and richly expressive art form, freeing it  from the practical requirements of vessel making and the conventions of the craft tradition.  From 1960-1991 however, Rosen focused on his role as teacher at Bennington College and maker, rarely exhibiting or publishing his unique, evocative body of abstract ceramic sculptures.  This exhibition and accompanying fully-illustrated catalog with essays and interviews, establishes Rosen’s place among the masters of 20th- and 21st- century American ceramics.  Holding the Line: Ceramic Sculpture by Stanley Rosen displays a wide selection of his sculptures and drawings  and will be on view through May 21.  This exhibition travels to Alfred Ceramic Art Museum at Alfred University to be on view there October 19 through December 30, 2017.

Stepping into the Past

Bennington was changing rapidly at the turn of the 19th century and local photographers captured the people and landscape using negatives on thin plates of glass.  The Bennington Museum has acquired nearly 2,000 glass plate negatives from this era that were held in the Weichert-Isselhardt Collection.  Most of the negatives in this collection were taken by Madison Watson (active in Bennington 1888-1899) and Wills T. White (active in Bennington 1899-1940).  When White retired he left the glass plate negatives in the attic above his former studio located in downtown Bennington.  The building also housed the Bennington Banner and in 1958 the negatives were found by Robert Weichert, photographer for the Banner.  Weichert started collecting historic photographs and later hired Tordis Isselhardt to help organize the collection.  Upon Weichert’s death in 1983, Isselhardt became custodian of this treasure trove of history.  All of these images are available on the Museum’s website, but a selection will be on the walls in the Regional Artists’ Gallery of the Museum during the year. The first phase of this installation is titled Buy Local: Photographs from the Weichert-Isselhardt Collection.  This exhibition pays particular attention to the shops and commerce of Bennington.

Activities inside and out

Throughout the day hands-on activities for families will be available in the Moses Gallery and in the Schoolhouse. Felt boards and felt pieces will be available to create Moses-style artwork. From 10:00 to 12:00 noon, try your hand at writing with quill and ink, and from 1:00 to 4:00 pm celebrate spring by making tissue paper flowers.  On the George Aiken Wildflower Trail, the Children’s Sculpture Garden will make its debut.  Jackie Marro, co-chair of the trail will be available to welcomes visitors.  There will be stump pedestals and flat discs of wood for children and their families to create sculptures, along with stones, sticks, pine cones and other natural materials.  These sculptures will remain on display in the mulched area. In need of inspiration?  Become inspired by the clay stacks of sculptured twigs in the entrance gallery by ceramic artist Stanley Rosen.

About the Museum

Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main Street (Route 9), Bennington, in The Shires of Vermont. The museum is open 10 am to 5 pm Thursday through Tuesday in March through May, and daily June through October.  It is wheelchair accessible.   Regular admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and students over 18.  Admission is never charged for younger students, museum members, or to visit the museum shop.  Visit the museum’s website www.benningtonmuseum.org or call 802-447-1571 for more information.

Bennington Museum is close to other notable art and culture destinations, including The Clark Art Institute and Williams College Museum of Art (20 minutes), and MassMoCA (25minutes).  Visit Artcountry.org for more information.