For Immediate Release: July 6, 2018
Contact: Susan Strano, Director of Marketing
sstrano@benningtonmuseum.org
802-447-1571 ex. 204

Image:
On view at Bennington Museum:

Edward Koren (b. 1935)
Thinking About Extinction II, 2016
Lithograph, printed in black and pale blue on paper
22 inches x 30 inches
Printed and published by Idem, Paris, Artist’s Proof I/VIII
Courtesy of Edward Koren

Edward Koren (b. 1935)
La Petite Reine #5, 2012
Lithograph, printed in brown and pale green on BFK Rives paper
Printed and published by Idem, Paris, edition 1/40
Courtesy of the artist

The New Yorker Comes to Bennington

This summer, two exhibitions celebrate the work created by artists whose cartoons, covers, and art have filled pages of The New Yorker since the mid-1920s. These wonderful installations are at two different venues, Bennington Museum and Southern Vermont College’s Laumeister Art Center.

Now at Bennington Museum

On view at the Bennington Museum now through September 9 is Thinking About Extinction and Other Droll Things: Recent Prints and Drawings by Edward Koren. This exhibition features recent etchings and lithographs by Vermonter Edward Koren, who is best known for his iconic cartoons of furry humans published in The New Yorker. This exhibition looks at two diverse spectrums of Koren’s personality – the humorous and the serious. It features a largely unknown body of prints, some fresh off the press and never exhibited before. Thinking About Extinction, a series of etchings and lithographs, shows curious skeletal creatures in a landscape of ruined Gothic and Classical architecture inspired by Koren’s reading of The Sixth Extinction by Berkshire County resident Elizabeth Kolbert. While reflecting the potential for human extinction and the death of civilization, these creatures with amusing hairdos and quizzical expressions, populate by laying eggs and having children. Thus reflecting Koren’s hopeful outlook and humor which is found just around the corner of despair. La Petite Reine is comprised of zany images of fantastic antlered creatures riding bicycles, and reflects nothing more than the sheer joy of unfettered movement in space.

Koren has long been associated with The New Yorker, where he has published over 1000 cartoons, as well as numerous covers and illustrations. His cartoons, drawings and prints have been widely shown in exhibitions across the United States as well as in France, England, and Czechoslovakia.

Southern Vermont College’s Laumeister Art Center

Through September 9, Southern Vermont College’s Laumeister Art Center presents a Celebration of Cartoons – 100 cartoons by 20 cartoonists from The New Yorker. Renowned for its serious fiction, essays, and journalism, The New Yorker has featured cartoons since its first publication on February 21, 1925. The participating cartoonists featured in this exhibition include: Harry Bliss, George Booth, Roz Chast, Tom Chitty, Frank Cotham, Matt Diffee, Liza Donnelly, Liana Finck, Emily Flake, Sam Gross, William Haefeli, Edward Koren, Bob Mankoff, Michael Maslin, Danny Shannahan, Barbara Smaller, Mick Stevens, Tom Toro, PC Vey, and Jack Ziegler.

Special Offer through October 8

Bennington Museum and the Southern Vermont College Laumeister Art Center have teamed up and are offering a combined ticket through October 8. Available for purchase at both locations, the Art Lovers’ Adult Ticket is $16, and the Senior Ticket is $11, a savings of approximately 20% on your admission to both venues.

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 daily through October 30. 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. For more information visit the museum’s website www.benningtonmuseum.org or call 802-447-1571.

Southern Vermont College’s Laumeister Art Center is located just two miles west on Route 9 from Bennington’s scenic Main Street. It is open 10 am to 5 pm daily. For more information, call 802-442-7158 or visit artcenter.svc.edu.

Bennington Museum is a member of ArtCountry, a consortium of notable art and performance destinations in the scenic northern Berkshires of Massachusetts and southern Green Mountains of Vermont, including The Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art , Williamstown Theatre Festival (20 minutes away); and MASS MoCA (25minutes away). Visit ArtCountry.org for more information on these five great cultural centers.