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Surface Attraction: Folk Art Revealed

The Paint on Painted Furniture

Saturated colors and exciting patterns achieved through manipulations of surface paint have embellished furniture for centuries.  The exhibition Surface Attraction: Painted Furniture from the American Folk Art Museum in New York, on view from September 20, 1005 through March 26, 2006, explores the transforming power of paint and its unique potential to act as a vehicle of culture, fashion, regional identity and imagination.

The museum's collection is particularly rich in painted expressions that appear on furniture and small decorative boxes.  Senior curator Stacy C. Hollander has highlighted approximately 30 examples from the colonial period through the mid-nineteenth century.  Essentially functional in nature, these forms are elevated beyond utility through the application of colorful paints and pigmented glazes in dynamic patterns.

This is the first New York City museum exhibition to shift attention from form and construction to the painted surface by hanging the works on the wall to be experienced as paintings.

"The canvas upon which the artists in this exhibition worked was furniture and their efforts enlivened homes throughout the American countryside. Today their names are largely lost to history, but their fingerprints remain in the expressive 'paintings' they have left behind," comments Ms. Hollander.

Most vernacular American furniture was made from local woods and was stained, glazed, or painted, and then varnished.  Performing the dual purpose of protection and decoration, the paint also unified the appearance by disguising the use of several different woods.

Various techniques were employed to achieve stunning —and sometimes startling— effects using an array of tools to manipulate the paint: brushes, putty, vinegar, smoke, feathers, sponges, combs, leather, and even fingers. The 19th century saw the transition from realistic, imitative graining to wildly imaginative patterning.  An unusual Maine Blanket Chest-on-Chest of Drawers presents a spectacular wood grain that is barely distinguishable as paint rather than as the actual wood.

After 1815 imagination became a primary goal of paint decoration on furniture. Paint not only reflects widespread trends, it can also be specifically expressive of cultural heritage.

A full day Symposium concentrating on paint decorated furniture will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2005.  It provides an opportunity to hear scholars, collectors, and dealers reflect on issues of techniques, regional style, conservation, and building a collection.  Speakers will present the latest research in this richly expressive American form. In addition, the education department has planned a panel discussion with three museum curators about regional characteristics of painted furniture on Wednesday evening, September 28 as well as several hands-on workshops on decorative finishes.

The exhibition Folk Art Revealed is on continuous view on two floors of the museum and Obsessive Drawing is on view from September 14, 2005 through March 19, 2006.

Obsessive Drawing

Exploring the medium of drawing through the lines and markings made by emerging self-taught contemporary artists, this is the first museum exhibition in New York to showcase these particular artists.  Included are the conceptual works by Japanese artist Hiroyuki Doi, the compulsive dots and symbols by Pittsburgh artist Charles Benefiel, visionary graphic

landscapes by British artist Chris Hipkiss, and the modular creations of Martin Thompson from New Zealand.  Selected by curator Brooke Davis Anderson, the exhibition of 30-40 works on paper will highlight the infatuation with line by living artists working outside of the academy. Also on view is a selection of historical drawings by well-established artists in the canon of Art Brut such as Adolf Wolfli, Martin Ramirez, Madge Gill and Edmond Monseil.  Their compulsion to "fill the page"—known as "horror vacuii"— sets the stage for artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

White on White (and a little grey)
March 28 - September 17, 2006
Whitework textiles represented a revolution in the decorative arts of Federal America at the turn of the nineteenth century.  The museum holds a breathtaking collection of these textiles, executed in a variety of techniques that have never been shown together. Whitework, an essentially female contribution to neoclassicism, is a term that comprises several methods used to create subtle visual effects that may be linear, sculptural or geometric.  Curator Stacy C. Hollander has selected approximately twelve whitework bedcovers, from the earliest dated 1796 to mid-century examples. These will be augmented by schoolgirl mourning needleworks from the Albany, New York area that utilized black and brown threads on white silk to simulate newsprint as well as marbledust drawings that illustrate the enduring influence of grisaille schemes in vernacular interpretations of the Grecian ideal.

Nek Chand
April 4 - September 24, 2006
The first museum exhibition in New York to showcase the work of this visionary sculptor from India whose thousands of cement animal and human sculptures inhabit a 25-acre kingdom called Rock Garden of Chandigarh in northwest India.  The museum recently acquired 29 works from a miniature Rock Garden Nek Chand built for the Capitol Children's Museum in Washington D.C that is relocating.  The sculptures, along with 5 already owned by the museum, will be featured in numerous groupings on tiered pedestals, echoing the design of the original Rock Garden.  Large-scale photographic images will demonstrate the grand scale of the world's largest and most significant folk art environment and its creator.

Organized by curator Brooke Davis Anderson, the exhibition also examines how Nek Chand has adjusted his private vision into a public one and how the mission of Rock Garden has adapted to reflect the needs of its community.

A Deaf Artist in Early America: The Worlds of John Brewster Jr.
October 4, 2006 - January 7, 2007
This is the first comprehensive retrospective of John Brewster Jr. (1766-1854), an itinerant artist who painted hauntingly beautiful portraits in elite households of New England and eastern New York State, despite being a deaf-mute from birth.  His intensity of vision and ability to paint penetrating likenesses that captured the personality of his sitters has rarely been matched in American folk portraiture.  Organized by the Fenimore Museum of Art, Cooperstown, NY, the exhibition features approximately fifty works covering the full range of Brewster's long and successful career.

Current Exhibitions

Folk Art Revealed
On continuous view
A provocative installation of artworks that span the eighteenth century to the present reveal the remarkable depth and diversity of the museum's permanent collection.  Four universal themes—utility, community, individuality, and symbolism—invite a deeper understanding of folk art and its role in people's lives.

Ancestry and Innovation: African American Art from the Collection
Through September 4, 2005
Celebrating the creative expressions of contemporary African American artists, curators Stacy C. Hollander and Brooke Davis Anderson have selected vibrant quilts, paintings and sculpture drawn from the museum's rich collection.  Among the artists represented are Thornton Dial, Sr, Bessie Harvey, Clementine Hunter, and Kevin Sampson.

Self and Subject
through September 11, 2005
Highlighting the twentieth-century fascination with identity and self-awareness through portraits by self-taught artists, the exhibition includes paintings, sculpture, and textile portraits and self-portraits by artists such as Ralph Fasanella, Morris Hirshfield, John Kane, Ray Materson, Achille Rizzoli, and Bill Traylor.

Events

The American Antiques Show, at the Metropolitan Pavilion Gala Opening Night
January 18, 2006 Open to the public January 19 - 22, 2006 Kicking off Americana Week in New York City, this all-American antiques show returns to the Metropolitan Pavilion with a distinguished roster of national dealers noted for their fine collections of Americana and folk art.  The preview evening as well as the four-day show and daily special programs benefit the museum.

About the Museum

Since its founding in 1961, the American Folk Art Museum has been one of the nation’s foremost resources for the exhibition, study, and preservation of folk art. It is home to one of the world’s preeminent collections of folk art dating from the 18th century to the present, including paintings, sculpture, textiles, and other decorative arts, as well as the work of contemporary self-taught artists from the U.S. and abroad.

In December 2001, the Museum opened its new building—and first permanent home—at 45 West 53rd Street.  Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, it has been hailed as "one of the most influential examples of modern architecture of the century," as well as a vital cultural addition to New York City.

VISITOR INFORMATION
American Folk Art Museum, 45 West 53 Street, New York 10019
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:30 am - 5:30 pm; Friday until 7:30 pm; Closed Monday Admission $9; Students and Seniors $7; children 12 and under are free.
Free admission on Friday from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.

There is a Museum Shop and Café

For further information: www.folkartmuseum.org  or call 212/265-1040

Edited by Erika Wright

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