Photography by Jason Mandella.
As one of oldest, non-collecting museum in the United States, what are the criteria used to plan for exhibitions at the Aldrich?
The Aldrich is a platform for artists at pivotal moments in their careers, and this mission is the driving force behind our exhibition program. Our shows aim to highlight and explore the work of emerging or under-recognized artists, bodies of work, or ideas, and do it at a time when the opportunity is particularly meaningful. Perhaps the artist is on the precipice of a significant new body of work and a commission from The Aldrich provides the time and support to make that growth possible, as in the case with our current exhibition with Genesis Belanger. Or perhaps there is an element of an artist’s work that has never been explored, as is the case of our current exhibition Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey. We also consider why The Aldrich is the right fit for the artist and their work—in the case of Belanger and Stella, both artists have histories with the institution, but it might be because of the scale of the Museum, the opportunity to present work in our Sculpture Garden, or because of the freedom that our location allows, just outside of the glare of New York City.
Genesis Belanger: Through the Eye of a Needle (installation view). The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, September 21, 2020 to May 9, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin, New York. Photography by Guillaume Ziccarelli.
There have been some major societal shifts since you began your tenure in 2018. How has the Aldrich engaged in this conversation?
A commitment to living artists has meant that The Aldrich has always had a deep engagement with society as it shifts around us. Artists are so often at the forefront of social change, shining a light on inequality and oppression. My tenure has given us the opportunity to do more of this work that the Museum is hardwired for—in 2018 we presented an exhibition of work made by incarcerated artists, How Art Changed the Prison, and a 50-year survey of work by artist and lesbian activist Harmony Hammond. Earlier this year we presented an exhibition, Weather Report, that addressed climate change and this summer presented the work of artist Rudy Shepherd with Somebody's Child, which depicted Black and brown victims of police violence.
Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey. The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, September 21, 2020 to May 9, 2021. Left, Jasper’s Split Star, 2017; right, Frank’s Wooden Star, 2014), Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen © 2020 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photography by Christopher E. Manning.
On a similar note, how has the Aldrich shifted it’s engagement with the public since the onset of COVID-19?
Since March the Museum has been in a constant state of experimentation, trying to find new ways to connect that are both true to our mission and safe for our audience. Like many institutions we took much of our programming online and have hosted everything from artist talks to our Teen Fellow program on Zoom. But we’ve also thought about the physical experience with a work of art that is so critical to what we do and have worked to develop programs that bring art and artists to our audience in safe ways (and that don’t rely on computers!). This spring we began commissioning new works by artists that were sent out to our audience as postcards. So far we have shared works by Lucia Hierro, Byron Kim, and Rudy Shepherd—this month we are sending a new work by Oasa DuVerney. This Museum’s Senior Curator Amy Smith-Stewart and Director of Education Namulen Bayarsaihan commissioned artist Ander Mikalson to create Scores for the Stars, Part I, a two-channel sound installation that serenaded Frank Stella’s works in our Sculpture Garden. Visitors could access the scores on their phones and experience Mikalson’s work as they explored Stella’s works outdoors.
Tell us a bit about what is coming down the pipeline at the Aldrich in 2021 and beyond.
In late January we’re excited to launch the Aldrich Care Box, which was also organized by Smith-Stewart and Bayarsaihan. A year-long traveling exhibition that can be checked out at the Museum’s front desk, the Box features commissions by artists Ilana Harris-Babou, Clarity Haynes, Athena latocha, Curtis Talwst Santiago, and James Allister Sprang and examines themes of care, grief, intimacy, and healing. While we normally describe a traveling exhibition as a show that travels to another museum, we are excited to corrupt this tradition and travel an exhibition from home to home. We also have a number of exciting shows opening in the year ahead, including Tim Prentice: After the Mobile, and Lucia Hierro and Hugo McCloud’s first solo museum exhibitions. We have many more exciting things coming up, including a group exhibition in 2022 that will take over the entire Museum, but the details are still under wraps!
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