The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

Although I found the structure of the building striking, and the acres of lush, green, grass inviting, the current exhibitions I did not like. Yes, they were unique and interesting, but I do not prefer this type of art.

Larry Adlrich was a well-known fashion designer who had a passion for art. Originally, he purchased the building for his own collection of art, but it was incorporated as a non-profit. In 1964 the museum opened as one of the country's first museums devoted exclusively to the exhibition of contemporary art.
Welcome, and please come in.

Entrance...

Sleek and sensuous brick wall

Taken inside looking out into the courtyard

Interesting sculpture

Same sculpture just "filled the frame" And here we are greeted by the first exhibition...

Arturo Herrera used a Renaissance technique called pouncing to tranfer his designs from paper to the gallery wall. He worked off a huge paper sketch (cartoon), and punched holes through the paper against the wall. He then patted the cartoon with small fabric sacks filled with dry colored pigments, which left a pattern of spots and dots on the wall's surface. Jessica Hough, the curatorial director stated, "The result will be a complex drawing of knotted dwarfs, complete with pick axes and gemstones, composed of dots of several colors." In the Renaissance a pounce drawing is the starting point for an oil painting or fresco, but Arturo uses the technique to create a contemporary flair.

Arturo Herrera Exhibition: Castles, Dwarfs, and Happychaps

1998 - 2006

Arturo uses various fragments of well-known imagery in his work

Keep in Touch, Set #3, 2004

Mixed Media on Paper

Two
Keep in Touch, Set #3, 2004

Mixed Media on Paper

Three

He borrows generically-familiar figures from coloring booksArturo Herrera

Keep in Touch Set #3, 2004

Mixed media on paper

Group of 13

Keep in Touch, Set #3, 2004

Mixed Media on Paper

Six

And uses characters from animated films as well as landscapes from children's books. Herrera was born in Caracus, Venezuela, and at present lives in Berlin and New York. He has had solo exhibitions through out the country.

W(E)AVE Exhibition

Elana Herzog 2006

Multi-panel installation composed of cotton chenille bedspreads and staples on drywall mounted on plywood, 2" x 4" wood framing, drywall, specified paint

Michael Schumacher 2006

Eleven channel generative sound installation for

pre-recorded and synthesized sound sources

Elana Herzog (visual artist) uses fabrics that are generally found in a home (bedspreads, carpets, quilts, blankets) Michael Schumacher (sound artist) found many of the sounds in this installation in Herzog's studio (drilling, sweeping, stapling, and even her dog, Tanner, chewing on a scrap of wood). These two artists realized their works were in the use of found materials, so they collaborated by weaving the elements of fabric and sound.

As you view the various fabric images,

the sounds of stapling, drilling,

and sweeping are playing in the background...

As I mentioned prior, the current exhibitions did not spark any flames for me - so my excursion to The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum has come to an end. Until we meet again.