In August, 2007, the International Council of Museums (ICOM), representing museum professionals, globally defined a museum as “a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits … for the purpose of education and enjoyment.” Private museums, differing from public museums, are based on a single collector’s vision, having no one to answer to but the owners. However, if they are non-profit, in the United States, their tax status requires adherence to requirements focusing, as ICOM defines museums, on educational value and public access. All non-profit private museums enjoy complete curatorial freedom for their owners, and for those they appoint or who succeed them, while reaping the benefits of non-profit tax status. Two hundred and thirty-six private art museums … [Read more...] about When Private Museums go Public: Visiting Glenstone & the Barnes Collection
Issue Articles
Still Relevant: Art Basel Miami Beach Keeps the Pulse
Reflecting North and South America’s political and economic turbulence and artists’ domestic and environmental concerns, Art Basel Miami Beach 2018 — its 17th edition — will open to the public December 6 through 9 at the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. Two hundred and sixty eight exhibitors will display work in tried and true sectors: Galleries, where gallerists present their choice of artists and where 12 galleries have moved to from their previous sectors; Nova, where three artists will exhibit in each of the twenty nine gallery-supported booths; Survey, showing 16 works made since 2000; Positions, where emerging galleries will show 14 solo artists, eight for the first time; Kabinett, with themed exhibits; Edition, where 11 galleries show prints; Conversations, where artists, curators and gallerists discuss the work and the art world; and Magazines, the sector where … [Read more...] about Still Relevant: Art Basel Miami Beach Keeps the Pulse
Ellie Brown: Holding on to a Dear Life
Alzheimer’s. A word that conjures up images of fear, isolation, confusion, and loss. In the United States today, 5.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 14 million. Terminal illness is a painful topic — but this one strikes home for me. My father was recently, finally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, after years of ambiguous labels assigned to his memory loss and declining capacity to care for himself. I sat down with photographer and mixed media artist Ellie Brown to talk about Alzheimer’s, fathers and daughters, and art as a means of documenting, unpacking and transforming this disease. Brown’s upcoming show “Sundown,” at AS220 in Providence, encompasses all of these things. Brown’s own father, a tall, friendly and robust guy known for his love of music and acting, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in 2015 … [Read more...] about Ellie Brown: Holding on to a Dear Life
Common Threads: Contemporary Fiber Art at the Gardner
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is known for many things: the beautiful Venetian palazzo-inspired architecture, the unconventional way it displays its pieces of art, the largest and still-unsolved art heist in history, and Isabella Stewart Gardner’s wide taste in art — from Italian renaissance and medieval European to Asian and Islamic art; from paintings and sculptures to rare books and textiles — to name a few. Keeping in tradition with her love of textiles, “Common Threads: Weaving Stories Across Time,” is on view through January 13. The exhibition features work from contemporary artists who are continuing the tradition of conveying stories and histories in their works while pushing the boundaries of textile art and distorting the line around what can be defined as a tapestry. Their works are housed in both the Hostetter Gallery as well as the Tapestry Room. Walking into the … [Read more...] about Common Threads: Contemporary Fiber Art at the Gardner
Tinsel Time in Clinton: Russia’s Holiday Icons Show Our Similarities
While the post-Cold War 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union brought the promise of closer relations and great cultural exchange between the United States and “Mother Russia,” recent political tensions between the two countries suggest the divide still exists, possible deeper than before. Two shows running this holiday season at the Museum of Russian Icons have the goal of serving to show visitors that even when the Space Age and threat of Nuclear War cast us as arch enemies, our holiday traditions suggested that our similarities were much greater than our leaders may have wanted us to believe. Curator Laura Garrity-Arquitt said the museum had wanted to present a show of Soviet holiday ornaments for some time but had “the worst luck finding a collection or exhibit available nearby where it would fit in our budget.” Enter collector Frank Sciacca, who had loaned the museum many of … [Read more...] about Tinsel Time in Clinton: Russia’s Holiday Icons Show Our Similarities
Donald Saaf: Fine Art Meets Folk Art
Donald Saaf knew at an early age, while drawing comic books with his siblings, that he wanted to be an artist. He began painting as a teen and later moved from Hartford to Boston, where he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. A year in Mexico on a travel scholarship, living with indigenous people in a small village with his wife — painter Julia Zanes — led to a show at the Clark Gallery in Lincoln, Massachusetts that launched his career. Now his work is widely exhibited in galleries, museums and private collections in New England and beyond as Saaf, who lives in Marlboro, Vermont, divides his time between painting, teaching, illustrating children’s books, carving stone and playing music. Saaf’s work reflects his strong interest in the intersectionality of fine art and folk art. Both forms find their way into his paintings reflecting community, people and experience. … [Read more...] about Donald Saaf: Fine Art Meets Folk Art