http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/ The Hunterdon Art Museum offers exhibitions and education programs to enjoy and share across generations. Founded in 1952, the Museum is located on the riverbank in Clinton, NJ, in a beautiful four-story stone mill listed on the National and State Historic Registers. In this historic setting, the Museum presents exhibits of modern and contemporary art, featuring established as well as emerging artists. We also offer children's and adult art classes, workshops, lectures, exhibition tours, and other interpretive experiences. en Copyright 2012 Wed, 02 May 2012 19:30:52 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss click here]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000616 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000616 News Wed, 02 May 2012 19:30:52 +0000 Facebook page.]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000612 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000612 News Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:05:59 +0000 http://njmonthly.com/articles/events/electric-dreams.html]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000611 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000611 News Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:01:51 +0000 FRAGMENTED: Astrid Bowlby, Sebastian Rug, Christopher Skura, Ben Butler February 5, 2012 - June 3, 2012 Click here to learn more Yeon Jin Kim: Spaceship Grocery Store April 1, 2012 - June 3, 2012 Click here to learn more Kirsten Hassenfeld: Cabin Fever April 1, 2012-June 3, 2012 Click here to learn more]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000610 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000610 Exhibits Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:43:31 +0000 Yeon Jin Kim, video still from Spaceship Grocery Store, 2011. Courtesy of the artist. With an intricately fabricated paper diorama and a video camera, Korean born artist Yeon Jin Kim takes the viewer on an animated voyage through her dreams. To create her videos, Kim merges the traditional techniques of drawing and sculpture with the contemporary technologies of film, animation and video. Kim's hand-drawn scroll drawings, often measuring up to 300 feet long, are heavily detailed worlds, with backgrounds drawn in graphite setting the scene for elaborate paper sculptural models. Using simple string, she animates the models as if they were marionettes, moving them through the crafted environment. While the models are animated, she films the movements in a single take. The incredible complexity of the drawn work yields an almost childlike animation in the final form. Kim's work illustrates her dreamed visions. In her work, a character can walk through a European capital, an American suburb and a leafy jungle within moments. She states, "Often catalyzed by dreams, the drawings and models depict animals, humans, architecture and landscapes in mildly hallucinogenic, charged atmospheres which derive from the intensely rendered imagery created through thousands of hours of drawing." Citing the influences of Hitchcock, Kafka and Carrol, as well as Charles Darwin, Kim infuses aliens and animals with human desires and experiences, setting them in environments that are at once familiar and completely foreign. In "Spaceship Grocery Store", an alien goes about his daily business, witnessing events that we, the viewers, recognize from our own world: cruelty, militarism and repression. It's as if to say no matter how far you run, you can't escape your problems. As a nod to both Carrol and Darwin, "Spaceship Grocery Store" opens with a giant venus fly trap. Kim has infused the plant with human characteristics, while, at the same time, pointing out the extraordinary inventiveness that can be found in nature. Kim's affection for Darwin is evident through much of her work and not only in Kim's subject matter. Her 2012 work "Zoonomia" borrows its title from Erasmus Darwin's (Charles' grandfather) two-volume book of the same name. ABOUT THE ARTIST Yeon Jin Kim was born in Seoul in 1978. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Seoul National University and her Masters in Fine Arts in Combined Media from Hunter College, New York in 2008. She has participated in numerous group shows and was part of the Artist-in-Residence Program at the Henry Street Settlement in New York City from 2010-2011. Among other awards and residencies, Kim was awarded a Residency Fellowship at Yaddo in 2009 and nominated for a Rema Hort Mann Foundation grant in 2008.]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000609 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000609 Exhibits Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:34:00 +0000 Kirsten Hassenfeld, Star Upon Star, 2011. Courtesy Peter Mendenhall Gallery, Los Angeles Kirsten Hassenfeld makes extraordinary sculpture and collage with ordinary materials. She carefully saves odds and ends from her daily life, such as bottle caps, thread spools, envelopes and wrapping paper and incorporates them into complex works of art that defy expectations. In her hands, these items become multi-faceted chandeliers, highly detailed architectural forms, and abstract three-dimensional sculptures that illuminate dark rooms, often inviting the viewer to enter a private space, and, at the same, recall the vernacular handicrafts of the original American settlers. Over the years, the main ingredient in Hassenfeld's work has evolved from primarily paper to recycled every day materials, a reflection of her concern about waste and conservation in today's society. With reference to traditional household chores that kept generations of Americans solvent, she quilts, sews, weaves, canes and patches these cast-off materials into spectacular assemblages. The result is an intricately constructed wall piece that is reminiscent of handwoven objects found in early colonial households. Given the 19th century architecture of the Hunterdon Art Museum, it is particularly apt for Hassenfeld to make her solo museum debut within its walls. While preparing for her exhibition, Hassenfeld reflected on the households that were established in this country as the pioneers headed west. In her mind, this expansion marked "the beginning of the end" for the untouched land, and she concentrates on the era when this land was first populated by non-indigenous groups. The title of the exhibition, Cabin Fever, refers to both the feverish pace of work for these early settlers, as well as to actual fever, hardship and isolation of these early years. Kirsten Hassenfeld is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art. She attended the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Scultpure in 1997 and received her Master's Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Arizona, Tuscon. She has had several solo shows, most recently at Peter Mendenhall Gallery in Los Angeles, Brown University, Smack Mellon Gallery, Brooklyn and Bellwether Gallery, New York City. She has been included in group shows a The Hudson River Museum, NY; The Brooklyn Museum, NY; and, The Jewish Museum, NY, among others. This is her first solo Museum show. The show is organized by Hunterdon Art Museum Director of Exhibitions Jonathan Greene. RELATED EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS There will be a talk with the artist on Sunday, April 1 from 1pm-1:30pm. Kirsten Hassenfeld will lead a class for kids ages 5 - 14. Kids can join the artist to learn how to make beautiful geometric structures from paper. After a brief tour of the art in Hassenfeld's solo show, children will create their own sculptures inspired by the artist's innovative use of mixed media and recycled paper. Students will use simple materials and techiniques to create three-dimensional, gem-shaped sculptures that can be attached together to create complex shapes resulting in an object that resembles stained glass! All materials will be provided. The class takes place on the last day of the exhibition, Sunday June 3 from 1:30pm - 3:30pm. Tuition is $27.]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000608 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000608 Exhibits Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:38:43 +0000 here.]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000615 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000615 News Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:41:18 +0000 read more]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000607 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000607 News Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:00:41 +0000 read more]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000606 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000606 News Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:57:03 +0000 Elizabeth Gilfilen: No longer, no later February 5, 2012 - March 25, 2012 Click here to learn more Nathan Skiles: The Clockmaker's Apprentice January 22, 2012-March 25, 2012 Click here to learn more]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/past_exhibits/#000600 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/past_exhibits/#000600 Past Exhibits Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:07:40 +0000 Elizabeth Gilfilen, Navel Shed, 2011, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of the artist Elizabeth Gilfilen, Cusp, 2012, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of the artist To Elizabeth Gilfilen, the blank canvas is an urgent lure. She doesn't want to begin; she has to begin. Gilfilen starts her paintings by setting up an atmospheric color that defines the mood of the work. Without a defined palette for each piece, she reacts to the fields of color as she works and selectively integrates new hues that expand on the expected potential color combinations. Gilfilen uses color to provoke our private discomforts and public visual pleasures. Her paintings share a sense of urgency, a result of her style of creating art that reflects her openness to chance and accident. The title of the show -- No longer, no later -- refers to the artist's process of creating her paintings. Each work is the result of a combination of elements: color, time and motion. When these parts come together, and the work is complete, it's as if a fruit has ripened on its vine. It's time for the painting to leave the studio and be seen. It can stay in the studio no longer, and there is no better time than the present for the piece to be seen. All four of the works in the show evoke this feeling of urgency. Gilfilen lays paint on the canvas to draw the viewer in. The bulk of the activity occurs near the center of the painting, as in Navel Shed (2011) and Flush (2011). Primarily red, these paintings, completed in late 2011, are viscous and fluid. In her newest piece, Cusp (2012), Gilfilen lessens the amount of paint on the canvas, switching her focus instead to the negative space left in the work. The paint is applied less thickly than in Navel Shed and Flush, and the viewer can see the brush motions more clearly. In all her work, Gilfilen's interest in spatial complexity and layering is apparent. Her generous use of negative space serves to enhance the raw power that comes from the core of the painting. While the activity within Gilfilen's paintings can be fierce and active, a closer look reveals great restraint and a very concise, specific set of visual cues that she uses to create these abstract representations. Her paintings can appear volatile and deliberate at the same time and piecing that puzzle together results in paintings that are anything but arbitrary. One of Gilfilen's earliest memories of art making was making a little book about the story of the chicken and the egg and which came first. For her, painting is much like that age-old question in that she continually questions where the impulse to paint comes from. Does it come from something that she saw or felt that needs to be represented in a creative form or does the actual process of painting create the impulse? In Gilfilen's case, it doesn't matter which came first because the inspiration to paint is embedded within her and remains the driving force in her ongoing exigency to create art. No longer, no later is an apt and poignant description of Elizabeth Gilfilen's process. Elizabeth Gilfilen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati and her Masters of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. She recently finished a residency at the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation and has participated in exhibitions at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut and The Bronx Museum of Art. She spent five years living in Jersey City, New Jersey and she now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. RELATED EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS Elizabeth Gilfilen and Director of Exhibitions Jonathan Greene will talk about her work and exhibition on Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 2pm-3pm. Elizabeth will also lead a class for adults titled "Leaping Past Limits in Paint". Using oil paint, acrylic or watercolor materials, students will embark on completing a series of six to eight paintings over four weeks. Beginning with an initial composition derived from found images or observation, students will be encouraged to push subsequent work further using a range of formal and experimental painting strategies. Students will explore how the first "seed" painting can be more deeply expanded upon through collage, manipulation of materials or an integration of found visual fragments and they will be introduced to the variety of techniques that contemporary painters use to get past their comfort zones! The class will take place on Saturdays from 11am to 1:30pm, starting on February 25 and ending March 17. Tuition for the class is $120 ($100 for Museum members) and materials are included. Painters of all levels are welcome.]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/past_exhibits/#000605 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/past_exhibits/#000605 Past Exhibits Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:48:44 +0000 Astrid Bowlby, 12.16.07 (chrysanthemums floating), 2007. Ink on paper. Courtesy of Gallery Joe, Philadelphia Ben Butler, Invention #50 (detail), 2010, ink on paper. Courtesy of the artist and Coleman Burke Gallery Fragmented explores how all four of the artists presented create art work that is the result of extremely labor intensive processes. The end result of the effort is art that is solid, yet fragile; if one piece or thread was moved or removed, the entire structure would collapse. Each piece in the show is constructed of repeating parts. In some works, such as Sebastian Rug's drawings, it is a repetition of the same or similar marks. In others, such as those by Christopher Skura, the repeating parts are the layers of drawing, rather than the marks themselves. They are all assembled piece by piece, whether drawn on paper or constructed from wood. Astrid Bowlby grows her drawings through a slow and meticulous process. She is focused on building a surface and often it is this surface that offers to her a pattern; a pattern that she continues, until the passage of time and the darkness of the work tells her to stop. Astrid Bowlby finds her influences for drawing in disparate sources: geological patterns of growth, embroidery, knitting and weaving. Bowlby lives and works in Philadelphia, PA. Ben Butler creates organic drawings and sculpture by allowing his process to develop incrementally. The drawings are woven together with a fluidity that allows the amorphous shape to grow into something spectacular, but not necessarily identifiable. Butler's sculptures encompass the same process, but involve the actual work of building as he uses the smaller elements to substantiate and invigorate the final work of art. Butler lets his work reveal itself to the viewer in time, just as he lets his form reveal itself through his process. Ben Butler lives and works in Memphis, TN. Sebastian Rug delicately constructs intertwined frameworks that appear to float on the surface. A complex combination of texture and proportion, Rug's drawings invite the viewer in to closely examine the execution of his marks. This magnified view shows just how interlaced the complete work is and from this, the potential fragmentation can be seen readily. Although tightly bound, the slightest cut or break would seem to unravel the complicated drawing into one line, the line where Rug likely began this journey. Sebastian Rug lives and works in Leipzig, Germany. Christopher Skura creates systems. Systems thrive or fail based on the connectedness of its parts and Skura's work is no different. Although improvised and free at their inception, his drawings evolve into technological and biological architecture through his ability to make contrasting elements work together seamlessly. Christopher Skura takes the viewer on a behind-the-scenes voyage through a complex imaginative system of shape, theory and color. He lives and works in New York, NY. Fragmented is an embodiment of repetition, detail and interconnectivity. These four artists share the unique obsession with creating a picture by developing an ongoing correlation between its smaller sections. Upon close inspection of the work in Fragmented, the viewer can quickly see how it would be impossible to remove just a section of the image without completely dismantling the entire work. This is where the dynamic lies: these images are strong because of their connections, but one disruption in any of these artist's processes would leave the overall work fragmented.]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000604 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibits/#000604 Exhibits Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:39:32 +0000 Read what Dan Bischoff from the New Jersey Star-Ledger had to say about Nathan Skiles: The Clockmaker's Apprentice:]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000602 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000602 News Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:24:49 +0000 See photos from our 60th Anniversary Celebration, courtesy of the Lehigh Valley Express-Times. And more coverage from our birthday party from the Hunterdon County Democrat!]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000601 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/news/#000601 News Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:21:30 +0000 Golem #1, foam rubber, 2011. Courtesy of the artist Golem #14, foam rubber, 2011. Courtesy of the artist Nathan Skiles combines recognizable iconography, such as woodworking and drafting tools, with cuckoo clocks and birdhouses to directly influence our traditional perceptions. With his innovative use of foam rubber as the only material in his works, Skiles tricks the eye and confuses our sense of immediate recognition, further challenging the viewer to look beyond the obvious and discover the detailed and meticulous process to which he is attached. For his exhibition at the Museum, Skiles has installed 100 never-before-seen pieces throughout the first floor. He embraces the unique architecture of the first floor gallery, painstakingly creating an experience in which viewers can participate. Some of the pieces are tucked away in hard-to-find places. Others are grouped together in families created in the method of Frankenstein -- three clocks, each divided into three sections, and each section combined with sections of the two others to create a completely new object. The Clockmaker's Apprentice is an effort in duality. Entering the gallery, it's hard to decide if you have walked into a clockmaker's workshop that has been taken over by a crazed scientist, or a historical tribal mask exhibition. The exhibition is the culmination of a partnership of abnormal architectural elements with the creative construction of Dr. Frankenstein. These beautifully grotesque amalgamations involve themselves in a narrative that focuses on the strange and often stressful relationship between a creator and his work. It's hard to resist reaching up to touch the clocks, testing the artist's statement that the sole material used is foam rubber. To satisfy that curiosity, we've placed a box filled with sample pieces just outside the entrance the gallery. Feel free to take a sample, look for others like it throughout the exhibition, and take the sample home with your memories of the visit. ]]> http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/past_exhibits/#000599 http://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/past_exhibits/#000599 Past Exhibits Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:59:52 +0000