Double Take: Works from the Permanent Collection

September 15 – December 2, 2023

 

As one moves through the world, what impulse compels us to turn around and take a second look? The works featured in Double Take encourage the viewer to slow down, have a deeper look, and perhaps even suspend disbelief. The human tendency to process information quickly and move on is hard to suppress even during a leisurely stroll through a museum. However, when employing a quick-read approach, one is likely to miss the details, subtleties, non-traditional use of materials and creative approaches that may complicate expectations. 

Why is a ripped, dusty, decaying piece of cardboard and a crushed metal dust pan hanging on the gallery wall? Viewed within the context of contemporary art, these pieces might be inspired by Marcelle Duchamp’s ready-mades or some sort of conceptual experiment. Richard Haden’s hyper-realist sculpture Colonizing Corrugation is so well-crafted—with its meticulously painted surfaces—that it’s hard to believe that what appears to be a heavily-weathered cardboard sheet is actually carved mahogany. Likewise, in Panhandler, a mangled dustpan is carved from poplar and then painted to resemble aluminum complete with surface scratches from heavy use.  

Upon first glance, Cayce Zavaglia’s Raphaella II may appear to be a finely-executed oil portrait of a young girl, but in reality the composition has been painstakingly embroidered using an array of colored thread. In addition, things are not as they appear to be in Lori Nix’s photograph Bar, 2009. The shuttered neighborhood watering hole has seen better times, but in actuality the entire scene is a hand-crafted miniature diorama. Every item, from the overturned barstools to a grouping of taxidermy animals, has been meticulously sculpted by Nix.  

When attentively looking at Maya Brodsky’s realist painting Curtain one might notice an unexpected element. The faint images of legs enter from the right of the composition like an apparition. Could it be the afterimage of the elderly man’s loved-one?  

Double Take reminds us to engage in active looking, to adjust our pace, question materials, imagery and process.  

 

  • Ilya Askinazi (American, born Russia, 1963). Stalker, 2014. Silver chloride contact print. Gift of the artist, 2014.8
  • Maya Brodsky (Belarusian, born 1981). Curtain, 2013. Oil on mylar mounted to panel. Museum purchase, 2013.15
  • Dominic Chavez (American, born 1970). Sierra Leone, 2010. Archival pigment print. Gift of the artist, 2011.16
  • Hannah Cole (American, born 1978). Art Books, 2013. Acrylic on birch panel. Gift of the artist, 2014.11
  • Michael Crouser (American, born 1962). Dog Run #62, 2008. Gelatin silver print. Gift of the artist, 2013.6
  • Alexander Gorlizki (British, born 1967). Goldblack Spiral, 2009. Gold and pigment on paper. Museum Purchase: Stebbins and Schildknecht Art Fund, 2012.1
  • Richard Haden (American, born 1958).
    • Colonizing Corrugation, 2007. Carved and painted polychrome wood. Museum purchase, 2012.4
    • Panhandler, 2010. Carved poplar and oak, enamel and epoxy paints on wood. Museum purchase, 2011.2
  • Connie Imboden (American, born 1953).
    • Untitled #4953, 1992. Gelatin silver print. Museum Purchase: Stebbins and Schildknecht Art Fund, 2009.4.2
    • Untitled #5030, 1993. Gelatin silver print. Museum Purchase: Stebbins and Schildknecht Art Fund, 2009.4.3
  • Karen Knorr (German, born 1954). The Joy of Ahimsa, Takhat Vilas, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, 2008-2010. Pigment print. Museum purchase, 2012.2
  • George Maciunas (American, 1931 – 1978). Fluxpost (Smiles), 1978. Stamps. Gift of Owen F. Smith, 97.3
  • Siobhan McBride (S. Korean, born 1980). Cabinet, 2013. Gouache and paper mounted on panel. Museum purchase, 2014.2
  • Lori Nix (American, 1969). Bar, 2009. Chromogenic print on Plexi. Museum purchase, 2011.8
  • Sa Schloff (American, born 1967). Crying Man, 1994. C print from paper negative. Gift of Christine J. Vincent and W. David Chambers, 2017.8.1
  • Traer Scott (American, born 1973). Moose, 2010. Archival inkjet print. Gift of the artist. 2016.1
  • Francis Trombly (American, born 1976).
    • Receipt (Community Thrift Store), 2010. Embroidered fabric. Museum purchase, 2010.5
    • Receipt (Costco), 2010. Embroidered fabric. Museum purchase, 2011.9
    • Receipt (Parking Citation), 2010. Embroidered fabric. Museum purchase, 2011.1
  • Jason Yarmosky (American, born 1987). Smile and Maybe Tomorrow, 2017. Oil on canvas. Gift of the artist, 2017.17
  • Cayce Zavaglia (American, born 1971). Raphaella II, 2011. One ply embroidery floss on natural Belgian linen. Museum purchase, 2011.21