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June at Clark Art Institute

Free Events

By: - May 19, 2021

Williamstown, Massachusetts—June at the Clark Art Institute brings the opening of one of its main summer exhibitions, Nikolai Astrup: Visions of Norway, and a variety of programming—in person and online—offering opportunities to explore art, ideas, and creativity in exciting new ways. Many of these programs are connected to the Clark’s summer exhibition line-up, including Ground/work, Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne: Nature Transformed, and Nikolai Astrup: Visions of Norway. Most events require preregistration; visit clarkart.edu/events or call 413 458 2303 for details.
 

Father’s Day Printables  

June 1–20  

Visit clarkart.edu to download free bookmark templates inspired by the Clark’s collection—ready to print and personalize to celebrate a father, grandfather, or father figure.  

 

Ground/work Campus Talks  

Saturdays and Sundays, June 5–26, 11 am  

Outdoor, socially distanced talks are held every Saturday and Sunday in June. Clark educators lead guided walks and conversations about three Ground/work installations during each talk.  

 

Space is limited and pre-registration is required for all participants.  

 

The Rhinoceros, from Every Angle  

Saturday, June 5, 2 pm  

In this virtual talk, Kathleen Morris, curator of Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne: Nature Transformed, explores the ways surrealist artists like Eugène Ionesco and Salvador Dalí used the rhinoceros in their work. She focuses particularly on François-Xavier Lalanne, who repeatedly used the animal as a subject, including mounting an exhibition in 1980 called “Le Rhinocéros dans tous ses états.”  

 

Artist’s Choice: Analia Saban and Bill Fox in Conversation  

Thursday, June 10, 6 pm  

Ground/work artist Analia Saban joins Bill Fox, director of the Center of Art and Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, for a virtual conversation about Saban’s Teaching a Cow How to Draw, currently on view at the Clark.  

 

Opening Lecture: Nikolai Astrup, the Visionary of Western Norway  

Thursday, June 17, 12 pm  

Guest curator MaryAnne Stevens introduces Nikolai Astrup: Visions of Norway, exploring the artist’s work, his horticultural achievements, and his early commitment to environmental issues in this virtual talk. She considers Astrup’s relationship to contemporary Norwegian artists and evaluates his unique contribution to the specific genre of the artist’s garden.  

 

Enchanted Places: Virtual “Fairy House” Community Project  

Launching June 21  

Collect natural materials to create your own fanciful structures inspired by Norwegian folklore and the landscapes in Nikolai Astrup: Visions of Norway. Submitted creations will be shared on the website.  

 

Midsummer Eve Bonfire Celebration  

Wednesday, June 23, 8 pm  

In honor of Visions of Norway, the Clark celebrates Midsummer Eve, a favorite Scandinavian holiday. The evening begins with a performance of traditional Norwegian folk dance accompanied by music played on the Hardanger fiddle. After the dancing, linger on the Clark’s terrace to enjoy the brilliance of a festive bonfire on one of the shortest nights of the year.  

 

Space is limited and preregistration is required. Rain date is Saturday, June 26, 8 pm.  

 

Curators’ Walking Tour of Ground/work  

Thursday, June 27, 11 am  

Exhibition co-curators Molly Epstein and Abigail Ross Goodman lead a walking tour of the Ground/work installations across the Clark’s campus. Epstein and Ross Goodman detail their work developing the exhibition and coordinating the installation with the six artists whose works are represented.  

 

Participants are advised to wear sturdy shoes and plan on a moderate walk. Space is limited and preregistration is required.  

 

Summer Book Club: The Growth of the Soil  

Wednesday, June 30, 7 pm  

Join members of the Clark’s staff and other book lovers on Zoom for a lively discussion of Knut Hamsun’s The Growth of the Soil (1917), which won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. The book chronicles the life of Isak, who leaves his village to carve out a homestead in untamed back country, struggling against nature and civilization in the process.  

 

This is the first of a three-part series covering novels by Norwegian authors whose treatment of identity and sense of place resonate with the paintings and prints presented in Nikolai Astrup: Visions of Norway. Copies are available for purchase through the Clark’s Museum Store and online at clarkart.edu/shop.  

 

Space is limited and preregistration is required. Registration for this event begins one month before the meeting.  

ABOUT GROUND/WORK  

 

The Clark’s first outdoor exhibition consists of newly commissioned site-responsive installations by six international artists—Kelly Akashi, Nairy Baghramian, Jennie C. Jones, Eva LeWitt, Analia Saban, and Haegue Yang—set throughout the Clark’s distinctive 140-acre campus. The grounds are open day and night at no charge. The exhibition is on view through October 17, 2021.  

 

Ground/work is organized by the Clark Art Institute with guest curators Molly Epstein and Abigail Ross Goodman.  

 

Ground/work is made possible by Denise Littlefield Sobel. Major support for Ground/work is provided by Karen and Robert Scott and Paul Neely. Additional funding is generously provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art; the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor; Maureen Fennessy Bousa and Edward P. Bousa; Amy and Charlie Scharf; Elizabeth Lee; MASS MoCA; Chrystina and James Parks; Howard M. Shapiro and Shirley Brandman; Joan and Jim Hunter; James and Barbara Moltz; and a gift in honor of Marilyn and Ron Walter.  

 

Visit clarkart.edu/groundwork for more information.  

 

ABOUT CLAUDE & FRANçOIS-XAVIER LALANNE: NATURE TRANSFORMED  

 

More than forty years since an American art museum has dedicated a show to the work of sculptors Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, the Clark presents an exhibition that provides a fresh perspective on these innovative artists. The imaginative and expertly crafted art of Claude Lalanne (1925–2019) and François-Xavier Lalanne (1927–2008) reflects their belief that the human, animal, and vegetal worlds share a profound kinship. Throughout their long careers they looked to nature for inspiration, creating sculpture, furniture, and other works that morph natural objects into unexpected inventions that play with the boundaries between form and function. The exhibition is on view through October 31, 2021.  

 

Presented in the Michael Conforti Pavilion, Clark Center, and additional outdoor installations, Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne: Nature Transformed is organized by the Clark Art Institute and curated by Kathleen M. Morris, Marx Director of Collections and Exhibitions and Curator of Decorative Arts.  

 

Major support for Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne: Nature Transformed is provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel. Significant funding is provided by Sylvia and Leonard Marx and by the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund, with additional support from Jeannene Booher, Agnes Gund, and Robert D. Kraus. The exhibition catalogue has been published with the generous support of Denise Littlefield Sobel, with additional support from the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund and Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.  

 

Visit clarkart.edu/lalanne for more information.  

 

ABOUT NIKOLAI ASTRUP: VISIONS OF NORWAY  

 

Although recognized as one of Norway’s most important artists, Nikolai Astrup (1880–1928) is largely unknown outside his homeland. In Nikolai Astrup: Visions of Norway—the first North American museum exhibition focused on Astrup’s paintings and prints—the Clark presents more than eighty-five works celebrating this brilliant painter, printmaker, and horticulturist. Paintings and woodcuts from all periods of Astrup’s career are included in the exhibition, revealing an oeuvre notable for its intense, colorful palette and the magical realism of its landscapes. The exhibition is on view June 19–September 19, 2021.  

 

Presented in the Clark Center, Nikolai Astrup: Visions of Norway is organized by the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in cooperation with KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes, Bergen, the Savings Bank Foundation DNB, and Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde. It is guest curated by independent scholar MaryAnne Stevens.  

 

This exhibition is generously supported by the Savings Bank Foundation DNB. Additional support is provided by Richard and Carol Seltzer and Diane and Andreas Halvorsen. The exhibition catalogue has been published with generous support from the Savings Bank Foundation DNB, with additional support from the Asbjorn Lunde Foundation.  

 

Visit clarkart.edu/astrup for more information.