Chuck Webster, Summer Bomb Pop, 2008The Hyde Collection, Ellsworth Kelly Studio, National Museum of Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, Saratoga Arts, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Shaker Museum, and Yaddo partner with the Tang at Skidmore College

Collections sharing project supported by $275,000 Henry Luce Foundation grant

Saratoga Springs, NY (April 1, 2021) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces an innovative regional collections sharing project called All Together Now, supported by a $275,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Organized by the Tang Teaching Museum, All Together Now forges new collaborations between neighbor arts organizations to bring attention to rarely seen works. At the Tang Teaching Museum, exhibitions will feature works from the Shaker Museum and Ellsworth Kelly Studio. At partner institutions, exhibitions will show work from the Tang collection, including many recently acquired paintings, photographs and sculptures. Partner institutions include The Hyde Collection, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Saratoga Arts, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and Yaddo. The grant will support these exhibitions, as well as the behind-the-scenes work that make the exhibitions possible, such as cataloging and digitizing Tang collection objects.

“On behalf of the Tang and Skidmore College, I want to thank the Luce Foundation for their generosity and vision,” said Dayton Director Ian Berry. “This grant recognizes the vibrancy and relevance of the objects in our collection and gives all of us the rare opportunity to see important American artworks out of storage and in the public view, fostering new connections and conversations, and expanding knowledge. We are grateful for our partners who’ve joined with us in a moment when working together is more important than ever. This project welcomes visitors back to our institutions and develops new audiences for all of us. It is thrilling to see new research, conservation and photography already emerging and especially to see the connections between arts presenters in our region strengthen and flourish. This is just the beginning!”

 

Each of the All Together Now partner institutions will offer special public visiting hours during the course of the exhibitions. Details about each exhibition, special public hours and related events will be announced in an All Together Now section of the Tang website at https://tang.skidmore.edu/exhibitions/356-all-together-now.

 

All Together Now exhibitions of artwork from the Tang collection at partner institutions begin May 1 and continue through the fall.

·         The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls: Summer Bomb Pop: Collections in Dialogue, May 1 through October 2021, brings together sixteen works of contemporary abstract painting from the Tang collection by artists such as Sarah Braman, Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Mindy Shapero, and Chuck Webster with several twentieth-century works from The Hyde’s renowned Feibes & Schmitt Collection by artists such as Grace Hartigan, Alfred Jensen, Ellsworth Kelly, Bridget Riley, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition is organized by the Tang in collaboration with Jonathan Canning, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programming at The Hyde Collection.

·         Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs: Chromatic Scales: Psychedelic Design from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, June 26 through October 2021, features more than thirty recently acquired 1960s San Francisco psychedelic rock concert posters designed by artists such as Jim Blashfield, Lee Conklin, and Bonnie MacLean, and the Big Five’s Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso. The collection, which will be on view in SPAC’s new “The Pines” facility lobby, features major bands such as The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and Van Morrison, and the era’s legendary venues The Matrix, Avalon Ballroom, and Fillmore Auditorium. Chromatic Scales is curated by the Tang in coordination with Christopher Shiley, Senior Director of Artistic Planning at SPAC. 

·         Saratoga County History Center, Ballston Spa: The Social Lives of Hats, June 26 through October 2021, pairs more than twenty-five hats in wide-ranging styles from the SCHC collection with several of Alfred Z. Solomon’s wood hat forms, which are part of the Tang collection. The exhibition is organized in conjunction with a Skidmore College class, The Social Lives of Hats, taught by Professor and Chair of the History Department Tillman Nechtman and Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart, in collaboration with Field Horne, Vice President and Chair of the Museum Committee at SCHC, and the Tang.

·         Saratoga Arts, Saratoga Springs: Brighten the Corners: Art of the 1990s from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, July 1 through August 14, 2021, features more than fifteen works of contemporary art including painting, sculpture, and photography from the Tang collection with a focus on identity and storytelling, by artists such as Nayland Blake, Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler, Wendy Ewald, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Frank Moore, Lorna Simpson, and Tim Rollins and K.O.S. The exhibition is curated by the Tang in collaboration with Louise Kerr, Executive Director of Saratoga Arts.

·         National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Saratoga Springs: Muybridge and Motion: Selections from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, July 1 through January 2, 2022, features a series of groundbreaking animal locomotion photographic studies from the late nineteenth century by Eadweard Muybridge (1830 – 1904) exhibited with equestrian paintings by American artist Henry Stull (1851 – 1913) from the National Museum of Racing collection. The exhibition is organized by Victoria Reisman, Curator, National Museum of Racing.

·         Yaddo, Saratoga Springs: Carl Van Vechten On Dance: Photographs from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, August through October 2021, features more than eighty photographs of dancers and choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Carol Channing, Carmen de Lavallade, Melissa Hayden, Geoffrey Holder, Alicia Markova, Arthur Mitchell, and Paul Taylor by the prolific photographer and writer Carl Van Vechten (1880 – 1964). The exhibition is curated by Lisa Kolosek in coordination with Elaina Richardson, President of the Corporation of Yaddo.

 

All Together Now exhibitions at the Tang showcase hidden gems from the Shaker Museum, the Tang collection, and Ellsworth Kelly Studio:

·         Energy in All Directionson view now through June 13: In collaboration with the Shaker Museum of Mount Lebanon, New York, the Tang celebrates the life and legacy of the artist and gallerist Hudson by bringing together work from the Shaker Museum with art from the Tang collection by artists who were represented by Hudson’s gallery, Feature Inc. The exhibition is being presented in the gallery for Skidmore audiences and online for everyone, at https://tang.skidmore.edu/exhibitions/276-energy-in-all-directions.

·         Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards, July 10 through November 28, 2021: In collaboration with Ellsworth Kelly Studio, the Tang presents a comprehensive survey of postcard collages by American artist Ellsworth Kelly. The exhibition marks the first time Kelly’s lifelong practice of collaged postcards will be the focus of a major museum exhibition. https://tang.skidmore.edu/exhibitions/275-ellsworth-kelly-postcards

 

The Henry Luce Foundation grant also makes possible a special event: a poetry and music commissioning project that responds to Energy in All Directions and is created in partnership with Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Academy of American Poets. Contemporary poets including Hanif Abdurraqib, April Bernard, Nickole Brown, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Claudia Castro Luna, Victoria Chang, Forrest Gander, Ilya Kaminsky, Eileen Myles, Francine Prose, and TC Tolbert crafted new writings in response to the art and ideas in the exhibition. The poets’ words will be incorporated into a new composition for percussion and voice by composer Ken Frazelle to be performed by soprano Lindsay Kesselman and New York City-based ensemble Sandbox Percussion in the exhibition at the Tang Teaching Museum in June. Details about the performance and public visitor hours will be announced at a later date.

 

For regular event updates and more information, please visit the Tang Teaching Museum website at http://tang.skidmore.edu or call 518-580-8080.

 

 

About The Henry Luce Foundation

The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to enrich public discourse by promoting innovative scholarship, cultivating new leaders, and fostering international understanding. Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Luce Foundation advances its mission through grantmaking and leadership programs in the fields of Asia, higher education, religion and theology, art, and public policy.

 

A leader in arts funding since 1982, the Luce Foundation's American Art Program supports innovative museum projects nationwide that advance the role of visual arts of the United States in an open and equitable society, and the potential of museums to serve as forums for art-centered conversations that celebrate creativity, explore difference, and seek common ground. The Foundation aims to empower museums and arts organizations to reconsider accepted histories, foreground the voices and experiences of underrepresented artists and cultures, and welcome diverse collaborators and communities into dialogue.

    

About The Hyde Collection

The Hyde Collection is one of the Northeast’s exceptional small art museums with distinguished collections of European and American art. Comparable to that of a major metropolitan museum, the core collection, acquired by Museum founders Louis and Charlotte Hyde, includes works by such artists as Sandro Botticelli, El Greco, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, Edgar Degas, Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and American artists Thomas Eakins, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, and James McNeill Whistler. The Museum’s collection of Modern and Contemporary art features works by artists including Josef Albers, Dorothy Dehner, Sam Gilliam, Adolph Gottlieb, Grace Hartigan, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, George McNeil, Robert Motherwell, Ben Nicholson, Robert Rauschenberg, and Bridget Riley. Today, The Hyde offers significant national and international exhibitions, and a packed schedule of events that help visitors to experience art in new ways. https://www.hydecollection.org

 

About Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), located in the historic resort town of Saratoga Springs in upstate New York, is one of America’s most prestigious summer performance venues. Its tranquil setting in a 2,400-acre park preserve surrounded by hiking trails, geysers, and natural mineral springs draws vacation crowds and arts connoisseurs each year for immersive experiences of performances by resident companies New York City Ballet, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, Opera Saratoga, and concerts by Live Nation. SPAC also hosts the annual Saratoga Wine and Food Festival in addition to imaginative programming such as the popular “SPAC on Stage” series and Caffè Lena @ SPAC. https://spac.org

 

About Saratoga County History Center 

The Saratoga County History Center inspires community memory and tells the story of Saratoga County. Located in a 1792 hotel building in the historic Village of Ballston Spa, the Saratoga County History Center has art and exhibit galleries, a research library, and a gift shop. SCHC is vital to the growth of our community because it unifies and strengthens communal bonds, fosters exploration and discovery about shared heritage, exercises imaginations, and provides inspiration for societal growth. SCHC promotes a deeper understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of Saratoga County’s past for an audience of diverse backgrounds and levels of interest through interactive education programs, innovative exhibits, ambitious web programming, personal experiences, and enduring relationships. https://brooksidemuseum.org

 

About Saratoga Arts

The Arts Center, at 320 Broadway in historic downtown Saratoga Springs, is the home of arts education for all ages, an art gallery, a gift shop, a performance space for film, music and theater, and much more. All of our activities flow directly from our mission of making the arts accessible: we encourage and enhance public access to a full range of the arts and art modes, from traditional work by established artists and performers to contemporary work by emerging artists; we help all in the community recognize themselves as artists and explore their abilities to make art, and in our programming and approach to programming we enact that commitment; and finally, we work with other organizations in the region – arts presenters, business groups, and governmental agencies – toward our vision of a greater community that understands the powerful role the arts play in personal enrichment and community development, and the regional interconnections of all stakeholders in that vision. https://www.saratoga-arts.org

 

About the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s mission is to preserve and promote the history of Thoroughbred racing in America and honor the sport's most accomplished participants in the Official National Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame. The Museum fosters education and understanding of Thoroughbred racing by providing public access to equine art, artifacts, memorabilia, video, and historical archives through its exhibits and interactive displays. Renovated in 2020, the new Hall of Fame features an immersive theatrical presentation and nine new interactive stations that contain the digital plaques for the 459 members of the Hall of Fame. https://www.racingmuseum.org

 

About the Corporation of Yaddo

Yaddo is a retreat for artists located on a 400-acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment. Yaddo offers residencies to professional creative artists from all nations and backgrounds working in one or more of the following disciplines: choreography, film, literature, musical composition, painting, performance art, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video. Collectively, Yaddo artists have won 78 Pulitzer Prizes, 31 MacArthur Fellowships, 69 National Book Awards, and a Nobel Prize (Saul Bellow, who won the Nobel for Literature in 1976). https://www.yaddo.org

 

About the Tang Teaching Museum

The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the Tang’s approach has become a model for university art museums across the country — with exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, to name just a few. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, and a robust publication and touring exhibition program that extends the museum’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s award-winning building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of art and ideas. The Tang building is closed to the public, due to the coronavirus, but is open online. http://tang.skidmore.edu.

 

 

Media contact

Michael Janairo | Head of Communications | Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery | Skidmore College

mjanairo@skidmore.edu | 518-580-5542

 

Image Caption: Chuck Webster, Summer Bomb Pop, 2008, oil on panel, 60 x 48 x 2 inches, Tang Teaching Museum collection, gift of Stefan Simchowitz, 2012.16.12. Summer Bomb Pop will be on view in the exhibition Summer Bomb Pop: Collections in Dialogue, May 1 through October 2021, at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York.

 

More high-res images and caption information can be downloaded from a Box folder at https://skidmore.box.com/s/8377y5vsmtih1fmgfn2oxsz25wm5kama