Another major theme is the body, presented in varying degrees of abstraction. Elaine de Kooning’s popular “Bacchus #81” will remain on view, but it is now joined by a rotating cast of studies she completed in watercolor on paper. Coming out of storage, Saul Baizerman’s sculpture “Day” is a large reclining nude figure, inspired by Michelangelo’s allegorical figure of Day, made from hammered copper. Viewers are able to see the sculpture up close and from all angles, revealing its textured, dimpled surface and hollow reverse side. “When you see them in conversation together, you really see how artists are simplifying the form of the body, transforming it into lines or shapes and then reconfiguring it,” says Hill. One wall explores the theme of dance and music through visual art. Joining abstract expressionist Alice Baber’s oil painting “Sound of the Red Dance” are two other oil paintings: Pierre Daura’s “Dancers” and Stephen Greene’s “Fermata #4.” A bronze sculpture of a woman by John Rhoden invites viewers to consider how the paintings nearby echo abstracted figure’s gestures. To engage the artwork in a different way, Hill worked with Peter Van Zandt Lane, associate professor of composition at the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music, to
create a playlist of songs inspired by the works on view. A fermata is a musical symbol indicating that a performer can hold a note, chord or rest as long as they want for emphasis. The playlist encourages viewers to pause and take a moment to reflect on the artwork. “The hope with moving toward thematic grouping is that you really focus on the conversations that these artists are having in response to their surroundings and what is happening in the world around them,” says Hill. A new seating area in Swanson allows space for lounging, reading or drawing. The gallery’s partition wall was extended to create a designated area for photography that will change throughout the year. The first rotation kicks off with two large photographs by Berenice Abbott, best known for her “Changing New York” series that captured the architecture and shifting landscape of the city during the Great Depression. Preparators added a new object wall in Swanson that displays three-dimensional decorative objects on floating shelves hung salon-style. Varying in style and media, these objects range from a glazed earthenware owl figurine by Pablo Picasso to a doomsday calendar Zebedee B. Armstrong painted on a VW hubcap.
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator