{"id":4531,"date":"2023-01-09T12:07:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T17:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/thelantern\/?p=4531"},"modified":"2023-01-17T16:41:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T21:41:25","slug":"best-of-2022-colby-museum-staffs-favorite-exhibitions-art-books-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/thelantern\/2023\/01\/09\/best-of-2022-colby-museum-staffs-favorite-exhibitions-art-books-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of 2022: Colby Museum Staff\u2019s Favorite Exhibitions & Art Books of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of 2022 the Colby Museum staff were asked to reflect on their favorite exhibitions they saw and the best art books that they read this past year. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Megan Adams, Anne Lunder Leland Curatorial Fellow<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Installation view of The (Stillness) Collective: Unfolding Place<\/em> at Speedwell Contemporary, Portland, ME (May 21-July 2, 2022). Photo by Luke Myers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The (Stillness) Collective: Unfolding Place<\/span><\/i> (May 21-July 2, 2022) at Speedwell Contemporary in Portland, ME<\/span><\/p>\n

In this exhibition video was projected from floor projectors onto four different walls and visitors were invited to experience the videos from swivel chairs located in the center of the gallery. Accompanying the videoworks were interwoven sound bites of words, memory, poetry, and historical facts. This story of the interaction between the participating artists and the natural world was fragmented yet cohesive, visitors experienced this immersive installation swiveling in their chairs, shifting their attention from screen to screen. As I moved my chair I connected with the movement of the performers as they interacted with the sun, the ocean, the sky,<\/span> seals, migrating sea birds, wild cherries, deer, porcupine, coyote, and eagles. <\/span>I felt a profound sense of stillness. I was so immersed in the work that I felt I had somehow found the quietest part of me. I have never walked away from an exhibition feeling so moved. I have carried this memory of my experience of stillness, of awe, of deep serenity with me all year. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Betsy Damon, <\/span>Water Talks: Empowering Communities to Know, Restore, and Preserve Their Waters<\/span><\/i> (Portalbooks, 2022)<\/span><\/p>\n

I completed my masters thesis this year on community-centric regenerative garden projects created by artists to address humanitarian and climate crises, and one of the gardens I covered was Betsy Damon\u2019s <\/span>Living Water Garden<\/span><\/i> in Chengdu, China. I was fortunate to connect with Damon while conducting research on her project and learned about her book <\/span>Water Talks<\/span><\/i> that just came out this year. In this book Damon shares her knowledge of the importance of water gained from decades of experience studying, teaching, writing and creating art about water. This book is an invaluable resource for us all as we creatively pursue ways to understand and restore our water systems that are integral to sustaining life on earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jessamine Batario, <\/b>Linde Family Foundation Curator of Academic Engagement<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Installation view of The Milk of Dreams<\/em> at Padiglione Centrale, Giardini, Sara Enrico, Jacqueline Humphries, Carla Accardi. Photo by Ela Bialkowska OKNOstudio, courtesy La Biennale diVenezia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Il Latte dei Sogni \/ The Milk of Dreams<\/span><\/i> at the Venice Biennale<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t want to pick just one, so I’ll cheat and add two more: <\/span>no existe un mundo poshurac\u00e1n: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria <\/span><\/i>(Whitney Museum of American Art) and<\/span> Meret Oppenheim: My Exhibition<\/span><\/i> (The Menil Collection). <\/span>\"\"<\/a>Exposure: Native Art and Political Ecology<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

Lorraine DeLaney, <\/b>Registrar for Exhibitions and Loans<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Installation view of Nick Cave: Forothermore<\/em> at MCA Chicago (May 14-October 2, 2022). Photo by Nathan Keay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nick Cave: Forothermore<\/span><\/i> at The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago<\/span><\/p>\n

Beth Finch, <\/b>Head Curator<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Installation view of Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet as It\u2019s Kept<\/em> (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 6- September 5, 2022). Photograph by Ron Amstutz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whitney Biennial<\/span><\/p>\n

This Whitney Biennial captivated me and here’s why: The installation used temporary walls and suggested that we could get away from the waste, and potentially the cost, of serial wall building. The gallery spaces could still be transformed – by art, and by the space. Secondly, on the day I visited, a Saturday as I recall, the museum was busy and the galleries felt vibrant. In the open areas, I could see people discovering the art — marveling at it — as I was doing the same. It was fun AND thought-provoking. And lastly, the art was a great, wondrous, complex mix — what a museum dedicated to American art should be. It also did a good job of remembering overlooked artists and putting them in dialogue with emerging figures. <\/span><\/p>\n